GAINESVILLE, Fla. - On his way out the door, Steve Spurrier said Florida was a "great big battleship" in need "of a new captain."

It's supposed to be hard to turn those things around.

It's taken Ron Zook seven games.

No. 18 LSU hammered No. 16 Florida, 36-7, at Florida Field on Saturday night.

The Gators are 4-3 and 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference.

Things haven't been this bad since 1986, when Florida started 3-4 and finished 6-5 under Galen Hall. Under Spurrier, Florida never reached its third loss in October and lost three or more games only three times in 12 years.

"No one in that (locker) room has been in this situation before," Zook said. "And it's been a long, long time since the University of Florida has been in this situation. But these players and coaches aren't going to quit."

This was Florida's worst home loss since 40-0 to Alabama in 1979.

And to think, Georgia and Florida State are still on the schedule.

Every aspect of Florida's play was horrible, and the loud, consistent boos that rang throughout the stadium served as reminder for Zook and his players.

Quarterback Rex Grossman completed only 18-of-43 passes for 161 yards along with four interceptions for the second consecutive week. For the season, he has 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, more than he had all of last season.

"I'm kind of in a slump right now offensively," Grossman said. "We'll try everything we can to fix this. We apologize to the Gators' fans. It's not because of the change of coaches. They're going to be a great coaching staff."

Grossman threw high and wide, and when he hit his receivers, there were at least three drops. The Gators trailed only 13-7 at halftime, hurt by a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by Corey Webster.

Webster, a converted receiver, caught two fewer passes (three interceptions) than Florida speedster Taylor Jacobs, who accounted for 66 receiving yards. This is the same Grossman who had set records against the Tigers in two previous meetings.

"Rex is pressing right now," Zook said. "He's got to quit pressing and just let the offense take care of itself."

In the second half, things were even worse.

LSU wide receiver Devery Henderson caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Matt Mauck, who had 67 rushing yards, to extend the lead to 26-7. And then to add further insult, LSU Coach Nick Saban called for a fake field goal that went 35 yards for a touchdown and a 33-7 lead.

"We thought last week was bad," Grossman said. "This week is going to be even worse. Eventually we're going to say, `(bleep) it' and not care about what happens. Then we'll come together and get out of this slump."

Zook had called for a fake field goal at the end of Florida's first drive that would have resulted in a touchdown if Jeff Whitaker hadn't overthrown Ran Carthon.

By the time the debacle was over, LSU fans outnumbered Florida fans. The Gators' SEC title hopes had taken a serious blow. And somewhere, Spurrier was preparing the Washington Redskins for Sunday's game with the New Orleans Saints.