WATCH: Dan Mullen takes victory lap in The Swamp, celebrates with fans after Florida upsets LSU

By Adam Silverstein
October 7, 2018

Football

Image Credit: @UFGatorBand / Twitter

This has been quite a year for head coach Dan Mullen, and the Florida Gators are only six weeks into the 2018 football season. With three straight Southeastern Conference wins (two on the road, one against a top-five opponent) and Gator Nation feeling itself again, Mullen has turned around Florida football so quickly that it has to exceed even his lofty expectations.

That’s not to say the Gators are “back,” per se, but there’s no question that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is rocking again as The Swamp was sold out for the first time in nearly three seasons on Saturday afternoon for Florida’s 27-19 win over rival LSU.

The Swamp is ALIVE 🔊🔊🔊#GoGators #RelentlessEffort pic.twitter.com/uXYhWm7Bpm

— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2018

Mullen was especially amp’d up in the fourth quarter as the Gators drove down the field to take a 20-19 lead before returning a pick six to ultimately take that eight-point lead on the Tigers with the game closing out.

Just look at this dude going crazy on the sidelines.

Dan Mullen's visor has come off!
I'm telling you, the visor is coming off! pic.twitter.com/jiYzGiB92a

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 6, 2018

MOOD. pic.twitter.com/WYFg66gZku

— Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 7, 2018

“There’s a lot of students that weren’t here 10 years ago. A lot of people that maybe are new Gator fans or didn’t see it or haven’t experienced it,” Mullen explained. “… I’m watching them, too. That wasn’t just about our team. I wanted to make sure everyone in the stadium knew the game was on the line.”

Once the game ended and Florida stood victorious over LSU, Mullen celebrated on the field with his family and players.

"It's great to see The Swamp back to being The Swamp again." pic.twitter.com/ZhO8QNguKb

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 6, 2018

Then he decided to get the fans in on the fun with a victory lap through the entire stadium, slapping five with nearly every fan he could and even getting dragged into a selfie by one. David Steinfeldt posted the following video to YouTube and shared it on Reddit.

“There’s a Florida that I know, and a Florida that I love and I know the players love. All the former players that are right now celebrating with our guys in the locker room, there’s a certain Gator Standard that they expect the team to live up to, but they also expect the Gator Nation to live up to,” Mullen told reporters afterwards. “It was that way tonight. The Swamp was an intimidating place to come play, gave us an unbelievable home-field advantage.”

Here’s what he said to the Gators in the locker room after the game.