In the week leading up to the Florida Gators clash with then fifth ranked LSU, the energy on campus was different than previous weeks.

Before we go into that new-found energy, let’s go back and talk about what the vibe on campus was like in the weeks leading up to the LSU game.

Prior to the 2018 season, response to the hire of Dan Mullen was mostly positive.

“At the beginning of the season, it was definitely cautionary optimism.” 5th year University of Florida student Alfredo Morales said. “I really liked Mullen from the beginning.”

In a poll done asking UF students what their preseason projections for the team were 45 percent of respondents thought the Gators would win six to seven games and make a bowl. However, the option that received the next highest number of votes was that Florida would have a repeat of the 4-7 2017 season with 27 percent thinking so.

Expectations were not high for the 2018 Gators, or at least they weren’t from the student body.

A good indicator of how students are viewing an upcoming home game is the activity in the UF student football ticket exchange. The more students selling tickets, the less students care about the team.

Before the Charleston Southern game, there was slightly more people selling tickets than buying but that is to be expected for a game against an FCS opponent.

Come game time, the Swamp was decently packed on the student side of the stadium. Being on the field for that game and simply observing the sea of Gators on the student side, the spirit for the team was there.

However, things changed drastically after the Kentucky defeat. 57 percent (55 out of 97 respondents) thought the season was essentially over and the rest of the year would be a disaster. My roommate went as far as saying we would only win two or three games the rest of the season.

“After that loss, I thought we were going to lose to Mississippi State, LSU, Georgia for sure, I thought Vandy would end up being way closer than it ended up being,” Morales said. “I honestly saw us coming in either third or fourth place in the East.”

This was when it was obvious that the general feeling about Florida football on campus wasn’t a great one.

The week leading up to the Colorado State game, all that was heard from students were grumbles about the team. Talking with classmates about the state of the team brought to light that, for the most part, the student body as a whole is very indifferent towards football.

I was talking to a friend of mine who does play-by-play for Gators IMG and has been around Florida football about why the students don’t seem to care as much. His response was very enlightening.

He told me that the attitude of students regarding football at the University of Florida has become very similar to that of schools in the northeast. Students for UF games will show up late, usually about 20 or so minutes after kickoff, and that is something that you don’t see at other SEC schools.

That was obvious during the Colorado State game.

At kickoff, on the student side, there were more open seats than filled ones. Taking into consideration that it was a 4 p.m. game and it was 117 degrees on the field, that could have played into it. However, even throughout the course of the game, the student section never filled up to its usual levels.

The student ticket exchange page on Facebook was a wreck leading up the game. It was nearly impossible to find someone who wasn’t selling their ticket, and many of them were selling theirs for less than $20. ‘

I also discussed the team with my coworkers at the Registrar’s office - the vast majority of them being either current students or former ones. One of my coworkers when asked what he thought about the team, leading up to the Colorado State game, gave a telling answer.

“Why should I care, we suck,” he said.

This response was not isolated to just him. Many of my other coworkers either had similar views to that or simply didn’t pay attention to the football team.

One of my coworkers had both his parents go to UF in the 1980’s, not the best years for Gator football. He told me his parents attended the Colorado State and made the comment that they have never seen the student section so baron.

Despite all this pessimism and overall negative attitude towards the football team, the next few weeks slowly confirmed that Gator fans are incredibly fair weather.

Following the wins over Tennessee and Mississippi State, optimism grew. The same roommate who thought the Gators would win only two or three games the rest of the season, now thought the team would beat LSU.

That vibe on campus and the energy from the students the week leading up to the showdown with the Tigers was one that I had never experienced.

I tweeted during the week that the energy felt different on campus and many people agreed with me. Come game day that feeling only grew.

The student section was a little late getting to the game, with some believing that LSU took the opening kick and drove down for a touchdown simply because the noise from the students wasn’t there, but once they did show up, it was bedlam.

The noise and electric feeling coming from the east side of the stadium was deafening. Students were getting so hype during the game that shoes, water bottles and even people were being thrown. Following the win, that only increased.

After the win, 71 percent of people polled thought the Gators could be an elite team. Compare that to the overall view after the loss to Kentucky, and it’s obvious how wishy-washy the students at UF are.

However, the morale regarding the team has been better overall this season that previous ones.

“One of the defining feelings of the McElwain era was kind of dread before each game,” Morales said. “With Mullen, it’s being more excited about seeing how the team goes through hurdles in the game. With a McElwain team, it felt like however the first ten minutes went is kind of how the rest of the game was going to go, if it was an ugly ten minutes you knew it was going to be an ugly game.”

“I think the biggest difference is more optimism, it’s been more excitement,” he said.

Needless to say, there has been more swings in emotion about Florida football than an episode of 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' has. But, for now, it seems that students are once again invested in Florida football and have a higher level of passion about the team.