It would be difficult to overstate the magnitude of the moment.
A stadium of 102,043 fans sat in uncomfortable silence in Death Valley, holding their breath, waiting through timeouts and play reviews to see what would become of a game that began long before the players took the field for the first time early Saturday afternoon.
Florida’s 16-10 victory over LSU was a drawn-out process that began in October. Hurricane Matthew forced the Southeastern Conference to postpone the Gators’ game with the Tigers, resulting in four weeks of tension and insults, hurled from both sides, all leading up to a dramatic matchup with SEC Championship implications.
It escalated even before the kickoff when players had to be separated during a warmup scuffle, then crescendoed through the game: an LSU score on the first drive, a UF 98-yard touchdown reception, an LSU fumble and field goals from both sides.
Finally, after a fourth-down stop, it was over. It was all over. LSU couldn’t gain its final yard at the goal line on its last two plays, with running back Derrius Guice failing to push through UF’s stone wall of Caleb Brantley, David Reese and Marcell Harris.
And Florida’s sideline, upon seeing their defense stop LSU for one final time, exhaled.
And then they celebrated.
“I was about to throw up,” offensive lineman David Sharpe said. “It was crazy.”
Florida is heading back to the SEC Championship game against No. 1-ranked Alabama for coach Jim McElwain’s second straight year.
On Saturday, McElwain became the only coach in SEC history to reach the conference’s title game twice in his first two years as head coach.
And so, of course, McElwain was emotional. He raced off the sideline with the rest of his team, hugged his players and cried.
“It just shocks me that somebody would question the Gators,” McElwain said. “The way I look at it, (LSU) got what they deserved. And it should have been worse.”
UF enters this week with possibly the most confidence it has ever had during McElwain’s tenure. Next is a road match against No. 17 Florida State scheduled for an 8 p.m. kickoff on national TV. And while the result of the game has no bearing on Florida’s SEC title game appearance on Dec. 3, UF will head into it fully expecting to win.
After all, the Gators had just broken a three-year losing streak to LSU.
What’s another three-year losing streak to FSU?
“We came in here to build a program and build an organization people can be proud of,” McElwain said. “That’s the way we’re doing it.”
But before they focus on FSU, the Gators will likely address several injuries this week. Senior linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone have missed the last two games, leaving their status against the Seminoles unclear. Quarterback Luke Del Rio has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since Nov. 5, making way for Austin Appleby to earn two consecutive starts.
UF’s starting center is injured and its starting safety is out for the season.
But in their place, young players have filled in, like first-year linebackers Reese and Kylan Johnson, who both impressed in their two starts. The two finished first and third on the team in total tackles against LSU, respectively.
“We got some young guys making some big plays out here,” defensive lineman Caleb Brantley said. “That’s big.”
In the coming days, McElwain will have to assess Florida’s roster and make those decisions.
Then he and his team will prepare for the Seminoles and hope that some of their improbable success against LSU in Death Valley carries over into their regular-season finale.
And, maybe, hope they can force another hostile stadium to hold its breath.
“It’s us against the world,” Appleby said. “(LSU) messed with the wrong guys.”
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Austin Appleby, right, celebrates with Quincy Wilson after Florida's 16-10 win against LSU on Nov. 19, 2016, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
