The Gators had a lot of fun over the weekend at Mississippi State and now want to bring it home for their fans when fifth-ranked LSU comes to town Saturday. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Mullen Expecting Nostalgic, Electric Atmosphere in 'Swamp'
Monday, October 1, 2018 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Florida in 2006, Dan Mullen was part of a national-championship team that enjoyed some epic, pulsating moments at the home venue known as the "Swamp." In 2007, UF quarterback Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy and the Florida Field crowd roared its approval. In 2008, Mullen's final season on the UF staff before taking over at Mississippi State, the Gators won another national championship and pulverized teams — beating fourth-ranked LSU 51-21, for example — along the way.
Images of that era have probably been dancing in Mullen's head in recent hours. He was very much a part of that remarkable home-field advantage, and now his first UF team has shaken off an early season loss to Kentucky to put together a three-game winning streak, including two straight road wins, to give the No. 22 Gators (4-1, 2-1) some momentum heading into Saturday's big Southeastern Conference showdown against the fifth-ranked Tigers (5-0, 2-0). With an eye toward what looms as the biggest game of the season, Mullen can't help but set a high bar on the environment front.
For someone who's seen the "Swamp" at its absolute maniacal best, what does he envision the atmosphere to be like this weekend compared to those glory days his last go-around here?
"I expect it to look like that," Mullen said.
It likely will; and more so than even the orangest-and-bluest of fans might think.
The Florida-LSU showdown is expected to be the first sellout of the season, with CBS having it as for its 3:30 p.m. SEC Game of the Week. (File photo)
Not only is Spurrier/Florida Field expected to be sold out, but the '08 national champions have been invited back to be honored in the 10-year anniversary of their title season, and their front man, Tebow, will be immortalized by joining Steve Spurrier, Jack Youngblood, Wilber Marshall, Emmitt Smith and Danny Wuerffel in the Florida Football Ring of Honor during a celebration between the first and second quarter.
Should be quite the spectacle.
"I expect [there] not to be an open seat anywhere. I expect to see people on their feet," said Mullen, who recalled pretty much walking into that kind of a scenario when he came to UF as part of the Meyer staff in 2005. "It was already like that. I don't think we had to build that quite as much."
He had to build it at Mississippi State, though, and then had to go back there withstand it in his first season on the UF sidelines. Obviously, it was a huge step in Mullen's latest reconstruction project.
Three weeks ago, the Gators were smarting after that historic loss to the Wildcats — UF's first in the series since 1986 — and were 0-1 in conference play for the first time since 2004. The team, though, redirected its season with a lopsided home win over non-league foe Colorado State, then went on the SEC road and rung up back-to-back wins at Tennessee and No. 23 Mississippi State.
The first of those two victories was done with relative ease, as the UF defense forced six turnovers, including five in the first half to build a 20-point lead at the break, and then cruised 47-21. The second played out differently, with the Gators winning a low-scoring slugfest by scoring the game's lone touchdown, then leaning on the defense to finish things off in a 13-6 getaway that showed some across-the-board mettle in all three phases.
"I think it shows how much composure our team has, as a whole, just to stay focused on the goal at hand, on the task at hand," UF third-year sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks said. "I think the guys did a good job of handling the environment."
Now the Gators get a chance to let the environment work to their advantage against the most talented team they'll face at home all season.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, a grad transfer from Ohio State, has passed for 1,023 yards and six touchdowns without an interception, while also rushing for 166 yards.
Before destroying Ole Miss 45-16 Saturday night, the Tigers also went on the road and upset seventh-ranked Auburn 22-21 on a field goal as time expired, and opened the season by punking No. 8 Miami 33-17 at Arlington, Texas, in a game they led by 30 heading into the fourth quarter.
LSU doesn't boast a devastating run or pass offense (seventh and 10th in the SEC, respectively, plus 10th overall at 396.6 yards per game), nor do the Tigers have staggering defensive digits (fourth vs. the run, 10th vs. the pass, eighth overall at 333.6 yards per game). Instead, they're just extremely efficient on both sides of the ball and rarely make mistakes — or turnovers. LSU has fumbled three times this season, but quarterback Joe Burrow, a grad transfer from Ohio State, has yet to throw an interception, and the Tigers' defense has forced 10 turnovers, which is second only to Florida's opportune defense in takeaways.
The Gators (plus-9) and Tigers (plus-7) rank first and second, respectively, in turnover margin in the SEC.
It was mentioned to Franks that LSU has a handful of future NFL players on its roster, especially on defense.
"We've got NFL guys across the board, as well," Franks retorted. "Obviously, they're a really good team, a physical team. … It helped us playing a physical [Mississippi State] team last week going into this week. Just have to keep on getting better. The best thing about playing in the SEC [is that] you keep playing a better team each week, so we are up for the challenge. We just have to continue to work and continue to build our physicality as a team and as a whole."
LSU has won four of the previous five meetings, including last year's 17-16 road win, courtesy of a missed extra point. UF's lone victory during that five-game stretch came in 2016 when the Gators' defense stopped the Tigers on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the game's final play to win 16-10 and clinch the SEC East Division title at Baton Rouge.
Can't get much closer than that the last two years.
"This game should be real physical and fast," UF defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson said. "A lot of guys out there are ready to get after it. Like I said, it's the biggest game of the year for both teams."
The Gators believe a little help from their friends — and their past — can make a difference. It's been a while since the "Swamp" has been as alive as it figures to be Saturday.
"For the '08 team to come back, especially for a big rivalry game, it will definitely get the juices flowing for a lot of guys on our team and just make guys want to play a little harder and want to win," said senior junior wide receiver Josh Hammond, whose older brother, Frankie, was a wideout on that '08 squad. "It means a lot. Especially knowing the body of work that they put in and knowing that they wore the same jerseys, the same helmet, the same sort of uniforms. It means a lot for them to come back and watch us play. It means a lot for us as well."
If Mullen has his way, the scene will be wonderfully familiar to some he's experienced in the past.
