GAINESVILLE, Fla. _ Florida football coach Dan Mullen's bold words stole the show during the Gators' blowout win against Baylor in men's basketball.
To the delight of an announced crowd of 10,623 Saturday at the O'Connell Center, Mullen promised to deliver another national title during a speech to fans.
Mullen played a huge role in two national championships as the Gators' offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer and knows the expectations of the program he inherits.
"That standard is not just SEC, but national championships," Mullen told the crowd at halftime of UF's 81-60 win. "That's what we promise we're going to bring back to you here in the Swamp in Gainesville and put the Gators back on top as the most dominating team in the United States of America."
Mullen, who was hired Nov. 26 to replace Jim McElwain, has an uphill climb in the SEC _ home to nine of the past 12 national champions.
Earlier this month, Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime to win an all-SEC national championship game. Meanwhile, UF finished 4-7 and has posted two losing seasons since 1980 _ both during the past five years.
"Our guys are working their tail off right now to live up to what we know the Gators standard is," said Mullen, whose Gators began their offseason conditioning program Jan. 16. "And that Gators standard is about having a national championship baseball team, about any team that tries to come in here as No. 1 in the country like Oklahoma tried to do (Friday) night (in gymnastics,) they're going to go home with a loss."
The Gators do return nine starters from both sides of the ball during the regular-season finale against Florida State. But UF lacks a proven quarterback and playmakers on offense while the defense finished 31st nationally after ranking in the top 10 all but one season since 2007.
