Big Fan on Campus: Florida fans integral in Gators’ big win vs. LSU
Congratulations to the Florida fans for the atmosphere created in The Swamp that helped support the Gators in their upset over previously undefeated LSU.
Dan Mullen got his first signature win as the head coach of the Florida Gators with a 27-19 win over No. 5 LSU in The Swamp that was rocking. The atmosphere in The Swamp was electric before the game even started and it reached levels not seen since the glory days of Tim Tebow after the Gators picked off Joe Burrow for the second time in the final two minutes to clinch the win.
Coincidentally enough, Tebow was in the house as he was the sixth former Gator to be enshrined in their Ring of Honor, and that likely was a big part in the Gators selling out their first home football game in three years. The last time The Swamp was sold out was the 2015 game against Florida State, and this was the first SEC sellout since playing Ole Miss that year.
Because of that atmosphere created by the Florida faithful, the Gators were able to make life on the road miserable for Burrow and the Tigers who couldn’t mount a comeback. As a result, the Florida football fans take home the honor of the “Big Fan on Campus” this week for helping the Gators to the big win.
After the game, Mullen was quick to thank the home fans in his interview with CBS’ Jamie Erdahl, saying, “It’s great to see The Swamp back to being The Swamp again.”
"It's great to see The Swamp back to being The Swamp again." pic.twitter.com/ZhO8QNguKb
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 6, 2018
Mullen on atmosphere: 'There's a Florida I know, there's a Florida that I love. It was that way tonight. The Swamp was an intimidating place to come play.'
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 6, 2018
I loved the Florida Gators Twitter account made sure to credit the fans for the job they did.
MOOD. pic.twitter.com/WYFg66gZku
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 7, 2018
Shout-out to #GatorNation for creating that intimidating atmosphere ✊
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 7, 2018
Here are all the highlights it led to 🔽 pic.twitter.com/XH4CMI1IqT
We’re getting pretty good at enjoying Ws 😁 pic.twitter.com/g8ouDlVQHy
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 7, 2018
Quarterback Feleipe echoed what Mullen said about the crowd noise in The Swamp. It was so loud he couldn’t even hear what coach Brian Johnson was saying in his headset. How do you think Burrow must have felt?!
'It was super loud. At one point I had the headset on and couldn't hear Coach Johnson talking,' Franks said.
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 7, 2018
Brad Stewart said after the game they couldn’t hear anything after his pick-six late in the fourth quarter that resulted in the game’s final score.
Brad Stewart on Swamp crowd: 'Shoutout to Gator Nation because we could hear a thing after that interception or the drive after that.'
— Edgar Thompson (@osgators) October 7, 2018
Florida fans will need to keep up this enthusiasm and continue to support the team in the second half of the season. The next true home game isn’t until the Nov. 3 game vs. Vanderbilt, but Gator Nation will have to drown out the Georgia fans in the neutral site game vs. Georgia in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party on Oct. 27.
They’ll have time to let their sore throats recover because they let it all out on the field on Saturday to earn the honor of being named “Big fans on campus.” for Week 6.