Dan Mullen Prepares Team for LSU, Tim Tebow, 2008 Team Reunion

It’s a grand week for the Florida Gators football team. Tim Tebow is being inducted into the Ring of Honor, the 2008 National Championship team reunites and the No. 5 undefeated Louisiana State University Tigers return to the Swamp.

University of Florida head football coach Dan Mullen says he wants the student body to dominate the environment in the stadium. These are his expectations from Gator fans:

Mullen said Saturday’s game is important to the current team, but it is also a really big one for future recruits.

Last year, the Tigers beat the Gators by one point (16-17) in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. That was back when LSU was unranked, and UF was No. 21. Wide receiver Josh Hammond said having the 2008 team in town motivates the team to play harder and get a win in front of them.

History

Florida leads the series 32-29-3, but LSU has won six of the last eight games. The last four games have been close ones, with a difference in scores of seven points or less.

LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron and Dan Mullen are no strangers to each other. Mullen faced the Tigers all nine of his seasons at Mississippi State, as the two programs were SEC West rivals, according to FloridaGators.com.

Mullen said Orgeron is an excellent coach and admires “what he does and how he does it.” He said it’s a lesson for all head coaches who take over new programs to be like Orgeron by putting their stamp on it.

Last Week

The Gators moved into the AP Top 25 rankings after a 13-6 win at Mississippi State on Saturday. Mullen said the team followed the plan to win.

Well that was fun! #GoGatorspic.twitter.com/N8pTvwb5IC

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 30, 2018

Quarterback Feleipe Franks completed 21 of 31 passes for 213 yards and had one interception. Mullen said this is where he has improved the most:

Mullen says Franks needs to improve on the same thing that all quarterbacks struggle with.

Defense

Mullen said he likes the steps they’re taking defensively.

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1046225620131360768

For the second time in the last three games, the Gator defense recorded five or more sacks. Jachai Polite, who was named SEC Player of the week recorded the first multi-sack game of his career. Vosean Joseph and CJ Henderson also contributed.

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1046535985293611010

Mullen said he thinks the Gators are different than other teams defensively.

Saturday

The No. 22 Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) host conference rival No. 5 LSU (5-0, 2-0 SEC) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.