Florida Gators: Hilda, Matthew and Coronavirus—Rivals Of The Rivalry Or A Good Sign?
It’s better this way. It might not seem like it as we scramble to make plans for Saturday, but I assure you it’s better this way.
Not only because the health and safety of Florida’s student athletes and coaches should be of the utmost importance, but because things are about to get really interesting.
Obviously no one is better off with 21 positive Covid-19 tests within the program, and I sincerely hope all impacted bounce back quickly with no long-term implications. However, in terms of postponing Saturday’s ball game, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s kind of like your favorite movie. You know what’s going to happen each step of the way, but that doesn’t stop you from turning it on any time it airs on HBO.
The only reason that analogy works is because like your favorite movie, you’ve seen this before.
Florida vs. LSU has been postponed for, to my knowledge, the third time in the rivalry’s history.
And each time, hear me out here, was for the better.
The matchup’s first postponement came way back in 1964.
Her name was Hilda and she originated off the coast of Southern Cuba before barrelling northwestward towards the gulf coast of the U.S.
On Oct. 3, the same day the LSU Tigers were set to host the Florida Gators in Baton Rouge, Hurricane Hilda, now a category three storm, slammed into the St. Mary Parish in southern Louisiana.
In addition to the postponement, Hilda was also responsible for 38 fatalities across Louisiana and Mississippi.
Fortunately, the game was able to be rescheduled for later in the season.
On December 5, 1964, sophomore quarterback Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators marched into Death Valley to make up for lost ground against the No. 7-ranked Tigers.
In 45-degree weather, Spurrier and the Gators stunned the one-loss Tigers in Baton Rouge.
Though LSU still ended up winning the 1964 Sugar Bowl while the Gators spent their postseason at home, Florida was officially 1-0 when its showdown against LSU was postponed.
The next occurrence wouldn't happen for another 52 years.
It was late September in 2016 when Hurricane Matthew was slated to be the first category five Atlantic hurricane since Felix in 2007.
After flattening Haiti and the Bahamas, the State of Florida was very much so in Matthew’s cone of uncertainty. And with it, Florida’s game against LSU was once again in jeopardy.
As many of us recall, however, the 2016-version of the rivalry’s postponement was much more dramatic than that in 1964.
Two days prior to kickoff, as Hurricane Matthew churned closer to the Floridian peninsula, the SEC called off the ball game.
Florida athletic director at the time, Jeremy Foley, had said that one of the greatest issues with playing the game as scheduled was the reallocation of emergency services within Gainesville. Meanwhile, LSU officials assured that they had offered every resolution possible to play the game -- including having the Gators visit Baton Rouge.
When Florida’s flight to Baton Rouge wasn’t booked in, mind you, two day’s notice, LSU fans (and even officials) immediately accused the Gators of “running scared” and “ducking out” on a big, cross-divisional rivalry.
LSU’s athletic director at the time, Joe Alleva, wasn’t shy about his feelings towards the postponement.
In emails obtained by Baton Rouge’s WBRZ-TV, Alleva responded to an email that said, “Florida would want to play as much as us… would they not?,” with the following”
“No way if they lost they would lose the East. Their schedule easier than Tennessee if they wanted to play we would be playing here or there.”
When it came time to reschedule the 2016 matchup, unlike the 1964 edition, there was a change in venue.
Alleva and the Tigers refused to give up their home game on Nov. 19, stating that if LSU travelled to Gainesville, it would have been LSU’s third-straight SEC road game.
Eventually, just to get the game played and the “ducking” accusations to cease, Jeremy Foley agreed to have the game played in Baton Rouge.
In a game that saw Florida quarterback Austin Appleby complete just seven of his 17 passing attempts for a measly 144 yards, and running back Jordan Scarlett make up for the rest of the Gators’ 270 yards of total offense, it’s absurd to think Florida won that ball game.
Especially considering the Tigers mustered 423 yards of total offense, albeit two lost fumbles.
But with 26 seconds to play, LSU found itself on the UF 1-yard line. The Tigers just needed one yard and an extra point to send the Gators back to Gainesville with a loss. But more importantly, to give Tigers fans backing for their “running scared” accusations.
But after a three-play goal line stand, it was clear one yard was one yard too long for the Tigers as the Gators held on to a 16-10 win in Baton Rouge.
How’s that for scared?
It’s no wonder LSU coach Ed Orgeron said what he said earlier this week.
“Florida doesn’t like us. We don’t like them,” Orgeron said in Wednesday’s SEC teleconference prior to Florida’s announcement to postpone Saturday’s matchup.
And while there have been a few (hopefully sarcastic) comments on Twitter in regards to the Gators once again “ducking” a game against the Tigers, hopefully a global pandemic is enough to keep those types of comments at bay.
And thankfully, it doesn’t appear that there will be much negotiating in terms of rescheduling.
When the SEC’s schedule was announced, Dec. 12 was kept open for all teams as a safety net for postponed games -- just like this one.
You can expect the Gators and the Tigers to line up on Dec. 12 at The Swamp. And if history is any indication, the postponement is for the better.
After rescheduled bouts in 1964 and 2016, the Gators came out on top of the Tigers. And while that’s noteable, it doesn't hold near the importance of keeping student-athletes and coaches safe.
So yeah, even though I might have to actually do my homework on time or you might actually have to get to that honey-do list pinned to the refrigerator, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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