Texas came to The Swamp for the first time in decades this past Saturday, and plenty of Longhorn fans heaped high praise for Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators ended up beating the Longhorns, and Billy Napier collected his signature win of the season.
Needless to say, Texas fans aren't thrilled with losing to Florida and head coach Steve Sarkisian's defense for losing didn't make them any happier.
Steve Sarkisian gives high praise to The Swamp
At his press conference on Monday, Sarkisian tried to soften the blow of losing on the road by pointing out how difficult an environment The Swamp can be:
“I mean, take the other – how many teams are there in college football, 136? Take the other 135 and have them go play at Ohio State and at The Swamp. See how they do.”
Now, not to diminish Florida's win or to try and pretend that at its peak, The Swamp isn't an elite venue, but there is a reason why Billy Napier isn't out of the woods with Florida fans.
In the Billy Napier Era alone, Florida has home losses to Kentucky, LSU, Arkansas, FSU, Miami, Texas A&M, and USF.
So there are seven schools that did just fine in The Swamp.
Now, Florida is 7-3 as a home underdog in the Billy Napier Era, but at just 16-7 overall at home, Napier has been far from the dominant force when in Gainesville.
The irony of Sarkisian and Texas fans praising The Swamp is that ticket prices for the game had plummeted and fans could get into the stadium for under $70 by the time kickoff came around.
But when you are Texas, you started the season ranked No. 1 with a QB that everyone was saying was the second coming of Tim Tebow, and now that you find yourself unranked, you will cling to any excuse you can find.