247 Sports leaves Florida Football's stadium off of top-ten environment's list
By Will Thomas
Florida football is heading into year three under Billy Napier with low expectations around the country, but there are still plenty of reasons for excitement around the program.
The Gators are bringing in several exciting freshmen, and return key pieces like QB Graham Mertz and RB Montrell Johnson to help out on the offensive side of the ball.
One factor around UF that hasn't ever changed regardless of how good the team is has been the effect that The Swamp has on visiting teams. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been known as one of the most hostile environments in all of college football for decades.
However, 247 Sports recently projected their top-ten most intimidating environments for the 2024 season and opted to leave The Swamp off of it.
Florida football: We'll just prove you wrong again
Last season, it's safe to say that the Gators weren't as formidable on the field as we've been accustomed to seeing over the past 10-15 years.
They didn't have a suffocating defense that shut down every visitor, and didn't have the high-flying offense that would keep fans on their feet.
Despite all of that, the Gators home field advantage was still electric. Gator fans proved very early in the season that no matter how Florida is perceived nationally, The Swamp is still no walk in the park, especially if you're Tennessee. Florida dismantled the top-20 Vols at home in week three of last season behind one of the loudest Gainesville crowds in recent memory.
And in Florida's loss to Florida State to end the season, Gator fans had FSU scrambling before some bad coaching decisions let the Noles regain the momentum.
The bottom line here is that it doesn't matter if the Gators are fielding a national championship team like they were in 2006 and 2008, or if they're fighting for bowl eligibility like they have been the past two seasons.
The Swamp has been and will always be one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. And if you don't believe it, we'll just prove you wrong again.