It’s not good news when a horse “throws a shoe” during a big event, and it was certainly not good news in Gainesville, Florida, when a Gator did it.
The headline from the extremely entertaining LSU Tigers–Florida Gators game is that LSU upset Florida on Cade York’s 57-yard field goal.
But the wildest moment from the fog-shrouded finish had to be Gator defensive back Marco Wilson’s puzzling decision as he held a shoe in his hand.
The Tigers began a drive late in the fourth quarter. A failed third-down try with the score tied at 34 should have meant an LSU punt.
Instead, after helping thwart the third-down attempt, Wilson found himself with one of LSU receiver Kole Taylor’s size-14 shoes.
Drop it? Hold it? Either would have been fine.
Instead, Wilson chucked it downfield and drew an unsportsmanlike penalty, which comes with an automatic first down.
The Tigers ran down the clock and moved into field-goal range. York delivered the kick of his life with 23 seconds left.
Through the fog, York could barely see the goal posts.
“It was a little blurry,” he said. “It went down the middle, right?”
No. 6 Florida had entertained national title hopes with a showdown against top-ranked Alabama on tap in next Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. The Gators drove into field-goal range, but Evan McPherson missed a last-second kick, and the LSU celebration was on.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a game where an opponent threw a shoe, to be honest with you,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said.
After the game, with his Heisman Trophy campaign having taken a big hit, Florida quarterback Kyle Trask unintentionally kept the shoe metaphor alive.
“It’s just one foot in front of the other, you know, and that’s what we plan on doing next week,” Trask said.
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