No. 4 LSU, No. 10 Florida have something to prove

"We're not satisfied with the way we performed the last couple weeks," LSU offensive tackle Josh Dworaczyk said. "There needs to be more positive energy. There needs to be more guys that are excited about this. It's a wonderful opportunity that we get to do. There's only so many of us that ever get to put this uniform on, and we have to take pride in that."

LSU has won 29 of its last 32 games, with two of the losses coming against eventual national champion Auburn in 2010 and against Alabama in last year's Bowl Championship Series title game. It's an impressive run for sure, but it may have come with a price.

The team's performance the last two weeks created panic among some of the fan base.

"With the season we had last year, you know, the fans, the people pulling for us, we kind of spoiled them in a sense because we didn't beat people. We beat people bad," LSU receiver Russell Shepard said. "We beat highly ranked teams bad. It had been a year and a half since they'd seen us play a tough game besides Bama and it's going to happen. That's regular football. You can't beat everybody by 40."

A victory against Florida certainly would go a long way toward ending some concerns.

The Gators, meanwhile, know it's an opportunity for them to move closer to rejoining the SEC elite.

"This is obviously a signature game for us," Florida offensive coordinator Brent Pease said. "It's a good measuring stick for us to see what we're up against or how we handle being against a ranked team, a team that's got talent across the board."