GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- While his Florida teammates dejectedly
walked to the locker room, Todd McCullough stood in the tunnel and
watched Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen climb a ladder and
start directing the band.
Clausen led countless choruses of "Rocky Top" and mockingly
performed the "Gator Chomp" after Tennessee's 24-10 victory at
Florida Field in 2003.
"Tears were almost rolling down my cheeks," said McCullough, a
senior linebacker. "I hated it so bad. It ate me up. It wrenched
at me. It was just like a knot in your stomach watching that. I
won't ever forget it."
And he doesn't want to see it happen again.
The Gators went 68-5 at The Swamp during Steve Spurrier's
12-year tenure -- winning 30 in a row between 1994 and 1999 -- and
created one of the best home-field advantages in college football.
That changed under Ron Zook as Florida foundered to a 13-6 home
record in three angst-filled seasons.
The No. 6 Gators (2-0) want to reverse that trend beginning
Saturday against fifth-ranked Tennessee (1-0).
"If we're going to take back The Swamp it's got to start
Saturday," center Mike Degory said. "We know that. We've had this
date marked since January, so we understand the importance of this
game."
New coach Urban Meyer has been talking about taking back The
Swamp for eight months. He refused to practice at Florida Field
during the spring and fall, even when the team's practice fields
were being redone. It would have been easy, too. After all, the
stadium is centrally located on campus and houses the team locker
room and weight room.
Instead, Meyer had the players bused back and forth across
campus to intramural fields used by students for recreational
football and soccer.
"We've made a big deal about, 'That's our stadium. That's a
sacred place," Meyer said. "That's a place that at one point the
Gators didn't lose very often. We've discussed it at great
length."
Meyer mentioned it before the season opener against Wyoming and
again last week against Louisiana Tech. But it means much more
against Tennessee, which has won two in a row in Gainesville.
"I think we all have a sour taste in our mouth because we
haven't been on the winning end of many of those games," Degory
said. "We have this year to change it."
The Vols won in Gainesville in 1971, but lost the next seven
games there, including five in a row against Spurrier. They even
lost twice with Peyton Manning running the offense.
Coach Phillip Fulmer was 0-4 in Gainesville until 2001, when the
annual game was moved to the end of the season because of the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks.
The Vols were 17½-point underdogs and pulled out a 34-32 victory
behind Travis Stephens' 226 yards rushing and a strong defensive
effort. It turned out to be Spurrier's final game at Florida Field.
Zook didn't fare any better against Tennessee two years later.
Clausen completed a desperation pass into the end zone before
halftime that propelled Tennessee to victory.
Clausen added to the Gators' misery by directing the band on
their turf.
"You can't grasp it," McCullough said. "It's not life or
death, but it's damn near close. You invest so much into this
program and the winning, to have a loss in your home stadium in
front of your family, in front of your friends, it hurts."
The Gators also lost to Miami, Florida State, Ole Miss and LSU
twice at The Swamp under Zook. His record might have been more
acceptable had the Gators not been so dominant at home under
Spurrier.
"When I was a kid, you came to the Florida games and it wasn't
a matter of if they were going to win. It was a matter of how badly
they were going to win," said McCullough, who grew up in nearby
Macclenny. "The talent we have on this team and the coaches we
have, there's no reason that shouldn't be the expectations here."