2007 Memory: Florida vs LSU
With no SEC football in the near future, I decided to turn off the news and turn on what I enjoy the most: Good college football games.
Most great college football games in the SEC in the past 10-15 years have generally been played by LSU. Because Les Miles coaches Les Miles, and Les Miles was/is batshit crazy.
The 2007 season was no different. Going into the Florida game, The LSU team – which eventually won the National Championship – after one of the weirdest, most-fun seasons in college football memory – was going into Baton Rouge against one of its most hated rivals 5-0, having easily beaten its opposition, including No.9 Virginia Tech and No.12 South Carolina.
Florida, on the other hand, were the National Champions after their 2007 victory, and had lost 20-17 at home to Auburn – a team in itself had been upended by South Florida and SEC West bottom-dwellers Mississippi State.
We know the rest. Les Miles went all Les Miles, pushing his Tigers to go for FIVE 4th down conversions, and going 5/5 – including an exceptionally ballsy Colt David fake field goal. With the team on his back, Hester took the ball in with 1.25 on the clock, and LSU batted down a Tim Tebow Hail Mary to come away 28-24.
A FEW KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THAT GAME
Florida should have won that game. It wasn’t the string of fourth down conversions that killed the Gators. It was the drops throughout the game by the Gators receivers that eventually would haunt them.
God, Matt Flynn and Tim Tebow had ugly actions. Maybe that was why both didn’t amount to very much in the NFL.
Trindon Holliday in today’s game would have been a world-beater. This era seems before the days of crazy spread-offenses, and the Meyer/ Dan Mullen combination certainly wasn’t playing too much of one. But had Les Miles used Holliday out of the backfield and maybe in the slot, Holliday would have been nigh-on unstoppable…..rather like Hollywood Brown was for Oklahoma two seasons ago.
LSU was the only team able to stop Tebow that regular season. Jesus’ favorite football player had his lowest game in terms of throwing yards (158), and one of his worst in rushing yards (67). There was also a hysterically-awful trick play to boot, too.
Glenn Dorsey came through at the end. Glenn Dorsey spent most of his time during the game getting double-teamed or held by the Florida offensive line, meaning that he couldn’t consistently put Tebow under pressure. Until the final drive, when Dorsey spent the last few snaps living in Tebow’s face.
The Tigers made Percy Harvin a non-factor. Harvin, who ended up first-team All-American, had 4 catches for 58. yards
There was a bunch of NFL talent on the field. This wasn’t the bygone days that they are right now, when SEC teams ruled the earth and the NFL Draft. The SEC was pretty great, but let’s consider. Cam Newton was a back-up. He was thrown off the Florida team because Urban Meyer had someone better in Tim Tebow. If Newton was the starter, Meyer would have kept him. We know this because this is Urban Meyer. Markice Pouncey is en route to a NFL Hall of Fame Career. Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Andre Caldwell, Carlos Dunlap, Joe Haden and racist Riley Cooper all graced the field for Florida, while at LSU, nine players (Dorsey, Flynn, Early Doucet, Holliday, Keiland Williams, Byrd amongst others) all graced the field in the pros – to varying successes.
The coaches weren’t bad either. Miles won a National Championship, Meyer’s won three, Dan Mullen’s been a successful SEC coach (back at Florida), Bo Pellini, after an unsuccessful career that saw him booted from Nebraska, is back stalking the sidelines at LSU as defensive co-ordinator.
And one final question: Ryan Perilloux. Much-heralded player who said he would try to win four Heismans at LSU, did exactly zip in the pros. It was almost funny.