Jacob Hester revisits the "madness" from Kentucky's 2007 win over No. 1 LSU

Saturday night LSU travels to Lexington to take on the Wildcats for the first time in 14 years. Ahead of the highly-anticipated matchup at Kroger Field, former Tigers’ running back Jacob Hester shared his memories of the night UK upset the top-ranked team in the country with a 43-37 victory in triple overtime.

Everyone remembers the tension from overtime. Few remember the fight it took to get there. Kentucky trailed by 13 points just before the start of the fourth quarter, but clawed their way back to force extra time.

“You gotta give credit to everyone that was involved in that contest for Kentucky,” said Hester. “There were multiple times where it looked like we were going to pull away and some of my former pro teammates — Jacob Tamme, Wesley Woodyard — they didn’t allow it to happen. Andre Woodson was really good, Dicky Lyons was good that day, Little at running back. That was a very good Kentucky football team and I do give them a lot of credit for staying in that game.”

Dicky Lyons Jr. had six catches for 49 yards, but his biggest play of the day happened without the ball in his hands. Lyons launched Craig Steltz into the stands with one of the nastiest hits in Kentucky football history.

Hester’s Final Play Regret

Hester remembers every detail from that beautiful day in Lexington. One memory has left a bad taste in his mouth forever. LSU was trying to run the ball between the tackles in the third overtime. A hit sent Hester to the sideline.

“It’s definitely one of those games that I have a bad taste in my mouth too because I got an injury on third down,” Hester said. “It was fourth and one and that was a situation I felt comfortable in, fourth and one, and I wasn’t able to go out there on the field. I wanted to. Coach Miles thought Charles Scott gave us a better opportunity and he probably did. He was fully healthy. It was a nice play when you look at it, (Braxton Kelly) was right there to stop Charles. It was a really nice play by him and then madness ensued.”

The madness was a controlled chaos of sorts. Often times the chaotic scene creates safety concerns for the opposing team. Hester never felt like he was in harm’s way at Commonwealth Stadium.

“The fans stormed the field, but it was a situation where they were genuinely nice about it. If we play at a place like Florida, they’re cussing at you, they’re throwing oranges at you. It’s just a violent environment there. Lexington fans when they rushed the field, they were like, ‘Man, great game. Love the way you play. This is a big win for us.’ It’s almost like, ‘Yeah, I understand why you’re storming the field. This is a big win for your program.'”

Jacob Tamme Receives Redemption

Even though LSU lost, the Tigers received the ultimate triumph at the end of the season. Widely regarded as the craziest college football season in modern history, a late season loss to Arkansas did not derail their National Championship hopes. The Tigers won the 2007 title with a 38-24 win over Ohio State.

Around the BBN, many used the transitive property to declare that Kentucky was in fact the best team in the country. I’m sure you reminded any Buckeyes’ fans you knew that Kentucky was the better team. It wasn’t just the fans that did this. Jacob Tamme frequently ribbed Hester when the two were Denver Broncos teammates.

“He would mess with me all the time in the Denver locker room, ‘Hey, you going to bring my National Championship ring so I can take a picture with it?’ That was always his joke,” said Hester.

This Saturday, Hester will finally let Tamme enjoy his “championship.”

“I’m bringing the ’07 ring and Tamme and I are finally taking that picture on the sidelines there at Kroger Field.”

You can listen to the entire conversation with Hester on the KSR Football Podcast feed or by watching our Zoom conversation on YouTube.