Tennessee Triumph Short-Lived

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) â€” LSU regards Saturday night's upset of Tennessee as history. <br><br>With No. 12 Florida coming up Saturday, they believe it's the approach they have to take. <br><br>``We

Tuesday, October 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) â€” LSU regards Saturday night's upset of Tennessee as history.

With No. 12 Florida coming up Saturday, they believe it's the approach they have to take.

``We did pretty good, but we have a big, big challenge coming up,'' LSU tackle Brandon Winey said Monday. ``We know that we have to forget about what happened and only think about what's coming up. We can't pay attention to anything now except Florida.''

If the Tigers (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) want to put last year's 3-8 record behind them, being able to concentrate on each game is vital, coach Nick Saban said.

``The key for our team is going to be our ability to refocus and get back on track in terms of what we need to accomplish this week to prepare for this game,'' Saban said. ``Our ability to deal with the success we had is going to be the key to our preparation, and the preparation will be the key to how well we execute when we get to the game.''

LSU makes its second road trip of the season, fresh off the 38-31 overtime victory over No. 21 Tennessee, which was ranked 11th before the Tigers beat them.

The Tennessee victory was LSU's first against a ranked team since 1998, the first against an SEC East team in six games, and came a week after a 13-10 loss to Alabama-Birmingham.

A shot of confidence won't hurt LSU, which has not won at Florida since 1986. The Tigers have lost 11 of the last 12, including nine of 10 with Steve Spurrier coaching the Gators.

``I haven't had a chance to study them yet, but they're always tough, always have a great passing game, and always fast,'' LSU cornerback Fred Booker said. ``Believe me, we won't be thinking about anything else this week.''

Florida (4-1, 2-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, a 47-35 victory by Mississippi State. The Gators have lost back-to-back SEC games only once under Spurrier, and that was back in 1992.

Since 1990, Florida has lost only twice on its home field to a team not ranked in the Top 5.

Rohan Davey, the SEC player of the week after passing for 318 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, will be the starter again.

Davey had offseason surgery to repair tendons in his knee, which he injured in a basketball game. His recovery left him behind Josh Booty going into the season. Booty angered Saban when he improvised a pass play late in the UAB game that led to an interception and the Blazers' winning field goal.

Davey was limping by the end of the Tennessee game. He has tendinitis in his left knee and badly bruised his right ankle in the second quarter, but will be ready to play Saturday, Saban said.

``He made mistakes, but he made plays,'' Saban said. ``He played with the heart of a lion out there. He made a lot of plays in the game that made a difference for us.''