GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- There are over 90,000 seats in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and the Florida Gators want every single one occupied on Saturday.
“That's super important, because at the beginning, that's when people will be really spooked,” said cornerback Marco Wilson.
No. 10 Florida is set to welcome in No. 7 Auburn in a Top 10 showdown and a packed stadium has the potential to change the direction of the game. Tigers quarterback Bo Nix is not as experienced on the road, and a packed Swamp could rattle the freshman signal caller.
“If he think Auburn louder than the Swamp, he got another thing coming for him,” said defensive back Trey Dean.
Dean would know. The sophomore corner experienced a packed Swamp as a freshman, and it affected him - and he was one of the 'good guys.'
“I’m like ‘wow this thing rocking’ so I know if a quarterback get behind center, he gonna feel it,” he said.
Dan Mullen understands that some fans get tired of watching the same games over and over in the Swamp which can cause attendance to drop. However, the Gators head coach says there’s no excuse this week.
The last time the Tigers traveled to Gainesville was in 2007, so this isn’t a game you can see every year.
That year, the Tigers upset the fourth ranked Gators 20-17 with a 43-yard field goal as the clock ran out. This year, the Gators are considered to be the underdogs and are hoping to turn the tables on the Tigers.
“The Swamp’s not an easy place to play in, so it’ll be a challenging thing for him to get done,” said Wilson.
The Swamp can be deafening on gamedays, especially when there is a matchup like this one. Many players recalled the game against LSU last year, saying they want the crowd to be at least as loud as they were then.
According to the players, it is very important for the stadium to be packed from the opening kickoff.
“Offense can’t hear, offense can’t do what they want to do really," explained Kyree Campbell. "They’ve got to go off the silent count, so and then the crowd really, I don’t think most people know this, but the crowd really does affect the offense."
Looking back to that LSU game last year, multiple players said they were feeding off the energy of the crowd and that’s what led to the Gators’ success. There were 90,283 people in attendance at that game, and if you weren’t one of them, you missed out.
The crowd was absolutely electric when Brad Stewart Jr. reeled in a 25-yard pick-six to seal the game. The game on Saturday is likely to come down to the better defense, and the Gators will have a leg up if the stands are full of screaming fans that can help throw off the Tigers’ offense.
“Man, we need everybody there,” said Campbell. “That atmosphere, the crowd yelling, crowd screaming, they can’t hear. It’s going to mess them up. We need everybody there.”
