Next weekend, in a lot of ways, will separate the contenders from the pretenders. In addition to the Florida-LSU showdown, Alabama goes to Ole Miss.
“We’re right where we wanted to be, undefeated and going back to our house,” LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “Florida’s coming to town, and nobody is going to want to miss this game.”
The Gators, who were off this week, thrashed the Tigers 51-21 a year ago in Gainesville, a romp that was still fresh in the LSU players’ minds only minutes after taking care of Georgia on Saturday night.
“Florida put it on us last year, and we’re holding a grudge,” LSU quarterback
Jordan Jefferson said. “They were disrespecting us, doing stuff like punting the ball in the stands. We’ve been looking forward to this.”
Jefferson was referring to Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes punting the ball into the stands after returning an interception for a touchdown a year ago.
Linebacker Kevin Sheppard’s eyes lit up when asked what Tiger Stadium was going to be like next Saturday. LSU has won 32 consecutive Saturday night games at home.
“Oh man, words can’t describe that,” beamed Sheppard, already anticipating the atmosphere on the Bayou.