If there’s one thing you can say about Dan Mullen’s first Florida team it’s that the Gators have some fight in them.

It didn’t come easy but the Gators fought hard in the second half to outscore South Carolina 21-10 in the team’s 35-31 win in the Swamp. Florida pushed its record to 7-3 on the season, 5-3 in SEC play, following the win.

Immediately after the game, Mullen was asked to comment on his team’s fight with ESPN college football sideline analyst Tom Luginbill.

“Yeah, I’m pretty pleased,” Mullen said. “We came out and I told the guys, ‘If you don’t think we are going to win, stay in the locker room. I don’t want anyone taking the field that wasn’t ready to do whatever it takes to win the game. If you don’t think you can do it, stay in the locker room.’

“They believed they were going to win the game, these fans believed they were going to win the game. You saw the excitement, energy, and juice here in the Swamp. That’s what we need to be successful. The students, all of Gator Nation, they did a great job today to help us win this game.”

One of the big storylines coming into this game was the status of Feleipe Franks. With former Gator QB Luke Del Rio stating his belief that Mullen risked losing his fan base by starting the sophomore, that opinion seemed to be backed up by the fact Florida fans were booing Franks from the first series of the game.

Franks bounced back though, completing 15 of 21 throws for 161 and one score in addition to 36 rushing yards and two scores.

Here is what Mullen had to say about his starting quarterback following the win.

“He did a good job managing the game,” Mullen commented. “One of the things he did, he ran the ball well. He doesn’t have to be a great runner, he has to be a willing runner. He showed his toughness, he came out and showed his toughness today.”

Finally, the Florida coach was asked about his players jawing with South Carolina players at the end of the game.

“Yeah, this is the Swamp, we expect to win, we don’t need to talk,” he continued. “We need to go celebrate with our fans, our students, the band, with everybody. Let’s go celebrate the right way.”