Lowest attendance of the season present for loss to Mizzou

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- In Saturday’s loss to Missouri, the offense was lacking for the Gators. So was the defense. But on top of that, so were the fans.

Florida was dismantled at home 35-17, with the score not truly indicative of how lopsided the game actually was. Fortunately for the Gators, there weren’t a whole lot of people there to witness the shelling.

Relatively speaking, “not a whole lot of people” is still a good amount for most college football venues, but for the Swamp, the attendance was putrid.

The official attendance for Saturday’s game was 80,017. That’s the lowest number of the season, even lower than the game against Colorado St.

For years, decades really, the fan-base at Ben Hill Griffin stadium had been one of the best in the country. The Swamp was one of the most hostile environments for opposing college football teams to play in.

Not anymore.

“We want the program back,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “We need a sold-out stadium next week, and unbelievable home field advantage. That’s how it works. I’m gonna be honest with you, this is how it works too, when we sell out the stadium, we win a championship.”

To put how bad the attendance was against Missouri into perspective, the lowest attendance recorded at the Swamp in 2017 was 84,478 for a noon kickoff against Vanderbilt.

Reminder the team went 4-7.

This year it’s 6-3.

To add insult to injury, in the game last season against UAB, when Florida was 3-6 and had lost five straight games, 84,649 fans showed up. Over 4,000 less fans showed up for a team who’s only losses were to top-10 teams and had a shot at making a New Years Six bowl - this compared to the dumpster fire that was the 2017 Jim McElwain coached tragedy.

Heading into the season, attendance was already a concern as season ticket sales had declined drastically. Regardless, the improvement of the team and the overall improved attitude toward the team from fans should be enough to keep attendance high.

One thing that may have contributed to the low turnout, especially in the student section, was that it was a three-day weekend due to homecoming. A lot of students take advantage of the day-off and go back to their hometowns to visit family.

However, other than the alumni side of the field, Ben Hill Griffin stadium had numerous chunks of open seats. It was very noticeable on the second and third levels of either endzone where there were more baron seats than there were fans.

The discontent from fans was obvious too.

On multiple possessions in the second and third quarter, boos rang down as the offense continuously sputtered and failed to convert third down after third down.

The attendance may not get that much better next Saturday against South Carolina. The blowout loss to Mizzou certainly doesn’t help, but it certainly does not help with a noon kickoff.

Neither a good combination if the goal is to increase the number of fans in the Swamp.

Mullen has been preaching all year to get the Swamp packed, and he hopes that that message is received better than it has all season.

“We’re gonna work hard to make sure that they come out and play as hard as they can next Saturday,” he said, “and we need the same from the Gator nation and the support for this team and pushing them and helping them to go be successful both on and off the field."