Florida Gators' defense still motivated by 2007 loss at LSU

GAINESVILLE — Two years later, Florida safeties coach Chuck Heater feels a lot better about his defense's chance against LSU at Tiger Stadium.

"Unless Hester's back. Is he gone?" Heater joked. "He was such a man that night."

That would be Jacob Hester, now a second-year running back for the San Diego Chargers who turned in a legendary performance in LSU's 28-24 victory against Florida in 2007, a win that propelled the Tigers to a national championship and sent the Gators tailspinning to a 9-4 record.

Not only did Hester rush for 106 yards that night, he willed his team to victory, converting two crucial fourth downs late in the fourth quarter and scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:09 remaining.

LSU went a stunning 5-for-5 on fourth down conversions that game and 8-of-17 on third down. The Tigers held the ball for more than 35 minutes, and Florida's young defense, littered with freshmen and sophomores, simply couldn't get off the field.

Even with all the Gators' accomplishments - two national titles in three years under Urban Meyer - the loss still keeps Meyer awake at night.

"That was a tough night," Meyer said this week. "All we got to do is go score. All we got to do is not turn the ball over twice."

"Does it haunt us? Yeah, it sure does."

The No. 1 Gators (4-0, 2-0) return to Baton Rouge tonight for the first time since that devastating loss in 2007, for a showdown against No. 4 LSU (5-0, 3-0) with major national title implications.

Tim Tebow is expected to be a game-time decision, though sources have told the Post that Tebow will sit in favor of backup John Brantley. Regardless of who plays quarterback, the Gators' defense is confident it won't have a repeat of its 2007 performance.

Six players that started the 2007 will start again tonight, including Brandon Spikes, Joe Haden and Major Wright.

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong "told us that it's basically the same people that played in that game, but we just have two years more of experience and a national championship under our belt," Haden said. "We feel there's no way that can happen again, unless the whole team lays down."

The Gators' defense already got its revenge in last year's 51-21 win over LSU at The Swamp, scoring a touchdown, forcing two turnovers and limiting the Tigers to 27 minutes of offense.

But just to make sure his players don't get complacent, Strong went into the video room over the bye week and spliced together a few "highlights" from the 2007 game. Last week, he forced the defense to watch replays of all the third- and fourth-down conversions over and over again.

"We keep telling Coach, 'We did play them last year, if y'all forgot,'" Haden said.

Heater said the 2007 game was the best thing that could happen for the Gators' defense. The players started taking their jobs more seriously after the game, and in 2008 allowed 12 points per game while leading the Gators to a national championship. This year, Florida leads the nation in allowing just 7.3 points per game.

"We really went in there played hard and tough, but you couldn't see it because we couldn't get off the field," Heater said. "I think that was a real defining moment for our defensive guys."

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