Let’s face it: Florida kind of kicked LSU’s ass in 2016-17

Football

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There are more poetic ways to describe the entirety of what Florida Gators athletics did to the LSU Tigers over the course of the 2016-17 season. Sometimes, simpler is just better.

Florida kicked LSU’s ass.

What has always been a legitimate rivalry between the Gators and Tigers became a bitter one this fall as the LSU administration and fans attempting to paint Florida as cowards for postponing a football game with Hurricane Matthew barring down on the Sunshine State. The Tigers then used that postponement to their advantage by attempting to force the Gators into either canceling the game, which Florida did not want to do, or playing a home game on the road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

UF eventually relented as the Southeastern Conference decided that the teams would switch home games over the 2016 and 2017 seasons even though this was a perceived disadvantage for the Gators. They ensured it was no such thing.

Florida traveled to Baton Rouge in what would normally be its tune-up week ahead of the Florida State game and beat LSU 16-10. The Gators not only won that game, a contest in which they were heavy underdogs, they did so by stopping the Tigers cold on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Oh, and it gave UF the SEC East title and a trip to its second straight SEC Championship Game. Head coach Jim McElwain went off, and the players celebrated in kind.

The end result was a win for Florida, an embarrassing finish for LSU inside Tiger Stadium and an additional massive home game for a loaded 2017 slate in Gainesville that will surely bring massive ticket revenue.

And that was just the start of the Gators’ dominance over the Tigers this season. In all, Florida’s team sports earned a 10-3 record over LSU over the course of the 2016-17 campaign.

Basketball routed the Tigers 106-71 in the teams’ only meeting, hitting a program-record 19 three-pointers in the contest. The 19 threes were the second most ever in an SEC game, one shy of Kentucky’s mark of 20 against LSU in 1995. The 106 points scored by Florida were the most in a game in regulation since Nov. 25, 2011 and most on the road in regulation since Nov. 28, 2001. It marked the first time the Gators eclipsed 100 points against an SEC opponent in regulation since Jan. 16, 2002 (vs. LSU).

Volleyball picked up two sweeps on the season, soccer won a game 3-0 and softball won 7-0 in a dominant Women’s College World Series meeting.

Oh, and Gators baseball took the season series 4-1 over the Tigers, winning a regular-season series 2-1 and earning a two-game sweep on the final week of the athletic season to capture the program’s first national championship in the College World Series Championship Series.

Florida had other wins and higher finishes than LSU this season, though to be fair, the Tigers did excel in gymnastics when they beat the Gators twice handily — their only head-to-head victories in team sports aside from the regular-season baseball win. (UF also got the chance to troll LSU about its spring game.)

Regardless, there’s no questioning Florida’s drastic edge in the rivalry over LSU this season. From Joe Alleva’s long con, which failed miserably, to a historic national title win, this year belonged to the Gators — from the bitter start to the sweetest end.