It seems like it has been a long time since Florida football was a player on the national scene, but with Dan Mullen in charge in his second season, the Gators, fresh off a victory over then-No. 7 Auburn in Gainesville, are setting themselves up to be contenders once again.

For SEC Network anchor Peter Burns, the most important thing is that Florida football is a joy to watch again.

“Dan is bringing fun back to Florida football and I think that is what this program needed,” Burns said on SiriusXM radio show “SEC This Morning” on Tuesday. “The Swamp was incredible. It was a true home-field advantage. Gus Malzahn talked about it … Him recruiting Todd Grantham to Gainesville along with him has made all the difference in the world.”

Chris Doering, who played for the Gators during the Fun ‘n’ Gun era under Steve Spurrier, agrees and adds that the mood around the program has changed under Mullen according to Grantham.

“He [Grantham] said ‘the reason I came back is the family atmosphere that Dan Mullen has created,'” Doering said. “It’s fun to come to work every day.”

The rave reviews continued to roll in for Mullen and the Gators with Paul Finebaum, who thinks the Gators will get even better once Mullen gets going recruiting-wise.

“Dan Mullen has done this in two years without the luxury of 5-star recruits,” Finebaum recently said during his daily radio/tv program, ‘The Paul Finebaum Show.’ “He hasn’t gotten them yet. Can you imagine how dangerous this program can be, will be, if Mullen starts recruiting at a much higher level?”

That’s a scary thought, but the Gators have another tough test coming up this Saturday as they travel to Baton Rouge to face No. 5 LSU.