A Win At The Line of Scrimmage

It's arguable whether Florida vs. LSU is a rivalry. UF has its share of hated traditional rivals: Georgia, Florida State, and even Tennessee, but no two teams have played more important games in recent memory.

One of my most vivid memories from my Freshman year of college is the famous "jump pass" game. I remember standing on the fifth row in the stadium and seeing Tebow charge toward the line of scrimmage. All of a sudden he stops and the ball is suddenly falling like a popped balloon. For 2.5 seconds, there was complete confusion while 89,000 people tried to figure what the heck had happened. When Tate Casey fell on his backside in the very back of the endzone clutching the ball, the stadium erupted. It was the beginning of Tebow's magical career at Florida.

This game was nothing like that one, and yet they were the similar. Comparatively speaking, the 2006 showdown was an offensive explosion with 33 combined points scored. This year, a touchdown would have been enough to win the game. The 2012 game saw two relatively unproven quarterbacks struggle for much of the game. The 2006 match up had two veteran starting quarterbacks (Chris Leak and JaMarcus Russell).  This year, like that game 6 years ago, had a second year head coach leading the Gators and a running back that got better as the game went on.

But, like most contests in the SEC, the game came down to defense. Even the years that Florida's offense was reduced to a whole lotta suck, our defense was good. This game, they weren't just good, they were great. The line was dominant and the secondary was virtually perfect (with the exception of a 2nd half pass that turned into a Matt Elam strip and UF fumble recovery).

Now, am I saying that the LSU offense was a juggernaut? No. Quite the opposite, but when the #3 team in the country comes to call and you control the line of scrimmage, it's a huge win.

Florida may not be Alabama-good, but this team has the potential to win the East and compete to win a higher prize.