Hot Boudin, Cold Cous-Cous...

On This Day in Tiger Football History: The Greatest Game Ever Played:

Kevin Faulk, originator of the armband-over-chinstrap

On October 11, 1997, the number-one-ranked Florida Gators took their fun-and-gun offense to Tiger Stadium fresh off their first national championship. It marked the first time College Gameday broadcast live from Baton Rouge; it also marked the last time Lee Corso picked the visiting team to win anywhere.

Baby arm in full effect, I'm sure

I remember as a thirteen-year-old simply being excited to see the number one team in the country in person. Back then, beating Florida was absolutely unheard of. Just four years earlier, they had given us our worst home loss of all time, with a score of 58-3. True, ol' Curley Hallman was coaching then, much different from our new leader Gerry DiNardo. In many ways, 1997 was a transition year for the Tigers; then-high-profile juniors Kevin Faulk, Rondell Mealey, and Herb Tyler provided offense not seen since the days of Dalton Hilliard and Eric Martin. Games against a championship-winning conference team and a perennial favorite Notre Dame provided earmarks for a year that could bring special things like a division title or New Year's Day bowl game that season or next.

Blogging during the Hallman years would have taken up copious amounts of bandwidth. Hey, you coach a high school team now!

But unfortunately for the Gators, Doug Johnson (yes, the hard-luck longtime Falcons backup) was making his first meaningful road start in a hostile environment. To make matters worse, Spurrier's ego hit a new plateau when he thought himself talented enough to instill a true rotating-quarterbacks system (with Jesse Palmer). Two rattled, young quarterbacks in Tiger Stadium. 346 (!) yards and four interceptions later, they left the field with their first conference loss in three years.

I'm pretty sure several LSU fans still think Herb Tyler was white

Names like Cedric Donaldson, Raion Hill, Tommy Banks, Troy Twillie, Anthony McFarland, Kenny Mixon, and Abram Booty were the behind-the-scenes heroes. Tommy Banks scored the second touchdown on a seven-yard run, further solidifying his status as the Racist LSU Fan Favorite. Mixon, McFarland, and Twillie came up with three big-time sacks before two moved on to pro careers. Abram Booty perfected the out-of-bounds curl at the first down marker before being honored with a gold #88 jersey in stores. Cedric Donaldson retook the momentum in the second half with a 31-yard interception return. Raion Hill, just because.

Think of him as a '90s Zenon

That game opened my eyes as an LSU fan, though. Before that, my twelve years of highlights included a 12-6 win over #5 Auburn in '95 (Troy Twillie, back of the north endzone) and a 10-2 season in 1996. 28-21 made me realize that SEC greatness is something tangible; previously in the '90s, it was pretty much Florida's and Alabama's show. As soon as Herb Tyler ran the clock out, "Hey Baby" was reverberating, and the goal posts were down, I realized that things have always been fleeting in the SEC. A certain coach, a certain set of players, and we could become 90s Florida without the visor. Why not us? We had an entire state of talent just waiting to play for the home team and one of the best homefield advantages in all of sports.

It still remains the best game I've ever witnessed in person, and everytime I see October 11, I immediately assciate the date with 28-21 like a birthday or wedding anniversary. So if you're feeling down like I am, next time you see a Gator fan, remind him of our special Nine Year Anniversary. He probably won't even remember who Jacquez Green was.

- P.T.