Dan Mullen knows Florida football. He was in Gainesville for the Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow years, and he returned to coach the program from 2018-2021.
After losing the Florida gig (and pocketing a $12 million buyout), Mullen has transitioned to the analyst chair. He’s now doing work for ABC and Disney, which means he gets to weigh in weekly on his former team.
With one of Florida’s three major rivalry games coming up against Tennessee — Florida State and Georgia being the others — Mullen is once again picking against the Gators.
“I’m going Tennessee,” Mullen said without any reluctance on the Matt Barrie Show. “I’m still on the Tennessee bandwagon until they get me off of it. Josh Heupel, the offense has looked good. Joe Milton can make all the plays and I trust Josh Heupel, honestly, to put him in positions to succeed.”
Mullen isn’t expecting a blowout, though. He knows just how intimidating the atmosphere in the Swamp can be, and he noted in his analysis that momentum can shift at the drop of a dime.
“Florida might not be where they were a couple of years ago, but they’re still Florida. They’re still going to be a good team. It’s still the Swamp on a Saturday night in a huge game.”
While it’s strange that Mullen didn’t take any responsibility for Florida’s downfall over the past few years, he’s not wrong in his assessment. The Gators aren’t the favorite heading into this game, and it would be a massive upset. The Volunteers are ranked No. 9 on the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 11 on the AP Poll.
“In the Billy Napier era, (the Gators) are still waiting for that first marquee win. This would certainly be it for them, and it would be a great challenge for them.”
It sounds like Mullen doesn’t count the Utah win last year as a “marquee” victory, but perhaps he’s just locked in on the SEC rivalries. The conference’s slogan is “It just means more,” after all.
Florida and Tennessee will clash at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN.
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