When the Gators and Tigers play on Saturday, it will be the first top-10 matchup in The Swamp in six years. Florida will attempt to knock off its highest-ranked opponent at home since defeating then-No. 4 LSU in 2008.
Winning against the Tigers on Saturday would put the Gators in a position they haven't been since Urban Meyer retired the first time — national title contenders.
Despite the chance to enter the national title race, UF has been focused from the beginning of the season on reaching Atlanta and playing in the Southeastern Conference championship game — not the BCS title game in Miami. That isn't a realistic goal right now.
Coach Will Muschamp's message has stayed the same for the entire season.
The Gators don't let the highs and lows get to them. Tenth-ranked Florida is a cool customer. It's business as usual.
Florida's standing amongst national powers in the fifth game of a 12-game regular season doesn't matter.
Saturday's matchup against the Tigers is just another conference game, and the Gators have acted accordingly.
"We won't put any more hours this week than three weeks ago," UF coach Will Muschamp said. "I know everybody thinks that all of a sudden weíre going to change everything for one game, but we're not."
Jeff Driskel stood at the podium on Monday and delivered the same mechanical response he, his teammates and the coaching staff have given the entire season.
"It's just another day, but it's definitely a big one," Driskel said. "It's a really good opponent, and we're excited for the opportunity to be matched up with one of the best in the country."
This from a player who wasn't on the field in LSU's 30-point beatdown of Florida last season. A player who has yet to feel what it's like to try to make plays against the NFL breeding ground that is the Tigers' defense.
Sure, LSU represents a huge challenge for UF.
Before the season, on paper, the Gators had no business beating the Tigers.
But four games in, UF looks very different from the overmatched squad that lost in Death Valley last season.
Florida will run out of its locker room with a sense of optimism not felt in Gainesville in quite some time.
That still doesn't make this game any bigger than any other Saturday in the SEC.
"These wins are pretty much hard to come by," senior linebacker Jon Bostic said. "Anybody can beat anybody on pretty much any given day. So, we've got to bring our A game. [The Tigers have] got to bring their A game. We've got to try to go out, play smart and limit our mistakes."
A loss on Saturday isn't the end of the world. The biggest mistake for Florida would be to treat it as such.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Sophomore defensive backs De'Ante Saunders (26), Marcus Roberson (5), and freshman defensive back Rhaheim Ledbetter (29) prepare to run onto the field to face Kentucky on Sept. 22 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. No. 10 UF hosts No. 4 LSU on Saturday.
