Gator Getters

When the Bandits were in the game, LSU went from a four-man front to a 3-3-5 alignment. Williams and Matthews went in at end, Mitchell at tackle and Adams, Sykes and Gatlin at linebacker. In the secondary LSU kept first-stringers Donaldson and Chris Cummings at the corners and Mark Roman at free safety but brought in Troy Twillie and Chris Beard as the nickelback and strong safety, respectively.

The Bandits entered the game on Florida's first possession, thoroughly befuddling the Gators. "They had never seen anything like us before," Adams said. Nevertheless, when Florida coach Steve Spurrier was asked about the Bandits on Sunday, he feigned ignorance. "I didn't notice," said Spurrier, who insisted that the Bandits didn't beat his team as much as the Gators beat themselves. "We had some bad plays that we usually don't have," Spurrier said. "Usually the other team has those, but we had them tonight."

DiNardo seemed determined to show no emotion. "We played hard, and Florida played hard," he said after the game, "but we play Ole Miss in seven days, and it would be a shame to not go out and play as hard." Outside, the crowd, still roaring as the fallen goalposts were toted around the field, definitely was not thinking about Ole Miss.

"I guess he doesn't want us to get too much in awe of this upset," Mitchell said Sunday night at a team dinner. "But I know all the Bandits were really excited. After the game, all we said was, 'We did it! We did it!' "

Non-Bandit defensive tackle Chuck Wiley, who had a sack among his six tackles, had a wicked smile and some pointed words for analysts who had predicted a Florida rout and made the Gators snapping gesture with their hands. "To everybody who didn't think we could win," said Wiley, "including some on our own campus, I say, Like it or don't like it, but learn to love it because this is the best that's going on anywhere today."