The Florida-LSU football rivalry may not have a catchy nickname or a trophy, but it has become one of the SEC’s most intense annual cross-division clashes in recent years.

The bitterness began to intensify during a war of words surrounding the rescheduling of the 2016 contest due to Hurricane Matthew. A compromise was reached that the Tigers would host the 2016 game (originally scheduled as a Florida home game), but travel to Gainesville in both 2017 and 2018. The last two meetings have been one-score decisions, with Florida winning 16-10 in 2016 and LSU notching a 17-16 victory last year.

At SEC Media Days, LSU coach Ed Orgeron pointed to last year’s game as a pivotal moment for his team.

“It was monumental,” Orgeron said. “It was monumental for the point of the season, where we were at, very good football team. [Florida kicker Eddy Pineiro] missed the extra point. A very good kicker, as you know. And that gave our team confidence. What happened on the sideline is the leadership of the team came through. We’re winning this football game.”

The win against UF gave LSU the momentum to knock off a key division foe.

“That catapulted us into a great win against Auburn,” Orgeron said. “So that win for us last year was monumental to prove that we can go and beat Florida on the road.”

Auburn is one of LSU’s many high-profile rivals. Orgeron says the Florida rivalry belongs with the rest of them.

“From what I know and me being from Louisiana and my history with LSU, it’s always been an intense rivalry,” he said. “Whether it’s intense or not because of [the 2016] circumstances, I can’t say. But I tell you what, it’s about as intense a rivalry we have, and we respect the University of Florida and we look forward to going and playing a very good Florida team at Gainesville again this year.”