The Florida Gators hit a new low on Saturday night.
Even the Governor couldn't stay silent about what he witnessed.
And Ron DeSantis just said two words about Florida that left Gator fans stunned.
Tennessee Ended 22-Year Swamp Curse With Historic Beatdown
Tennessee throttled Florida 31-11 on Saturday night in Gainesville, snapping a 10-game losing streak at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium that dated back to 2003.
The last time the Volunteers won in The Swamp, Saddam Hussein was still alive and George W. Bush was in his first term.
Tennessee dominated from the opening kickoff, jumping out to a 31-0 halftime lead before coasting through the second half.¹
The Gators didn't score until a field goal late in the third quarter and managed just one garbage-time touchdown.
Florida fans fled for the exits by the third quarter as their team sleepwalked through another embarrassing home performance.
The loss dropped the Gators to 3-8 on the season with a dismal 2-6 record in SEC play.²
But the real story wasn't just that Florida lost — it's how pathetically they rolled over and quit in front of a sellout crowd.
DeSantis Couldn't Stay Quiet After That Disaster
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had seen enough.
"Getting blown out in the Swamp by Tennessee = rock bottom for the Gators," DeSantis posted on X.³
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1992417855556739314?s=20
Rock bottom.
That's where the Gators are now, and everybody knows it.
DeSantis didn't stop there.
"I remember the days when even someone like Peyton Manning didn't have a chance against UF in Gainesville," he wrote. "Frustrating for the fan base."³
DeSantis knows what he's talking about when it comes to Florida sports history.
He graduated from Yale where he captained the baseball team, but he's a lifelong Gator supporter who remembers when The Swamp was actually intimidating.⁴
The fact that DeSantis — who's not even a Florida alum — felt moved to publicly lament the program's collapse shows just how far the mighty have fallen.
Billy Napier Left Behind a Disaster
Florida fired head coach Billy Napier back in October after he compiled a 22-23 record over four seasons.⁵
That's the worst winning percentage for a Florida coach since Raymond Wolf's tenure from 1946-1949 — the World War II era.⁶
Think about that for a second.
Florida hasn't had a coach this bad since players were leaving campus to fight Nazis and the Japanese Empire.
https://twitter.com/GatorsNetwork/status/1992452288980652289?s=20
The Gators haven't won a single game since firing Napier over a month ago.
Saturday's humiliation was tied for the fifth-worst loss in series history against Tennessee and the worst home loss to the Volunteers since 1955.⁷
When DeSantis referenced Peyton Manning not having a chance in Gainesville, he was talking about the Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer eras when Florida won three national championships.
Those days feel like ancient history now.
The Swamp Has Lost Its Bite
Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns as the Volunteers completely dominated the line of scrimmage.⁸
The Gators managed just 110 total yards in the first half while Tennessee piled up 323.⁹
It was so bad that retired coach Urban Meyer — in town for his upcoming Hall of Fame induction — had to watch from the sideline as his former program got steamrolled.⁹
About half the home crowd left early, and you can't blame them for abandoning ship.
The Swamp used to be one of the most feared venues in college football.
Now opposing teams circle the Florida game on their schedule as a guaranteed win.
DeSantis pointing out that even Peyton Manning — one of the greatest quarterbacks in college football history who won a national title at Tennessee — couldn't win in Gainesville back in the 1990s drives home how dramatic the fall has been.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1992424806315389409?s=20
Manning went 0-4 against Florida during his career from 1994-1997 when the Gators were championship contenders every single year.
Tennessee didn't beat Florida in Gainesville from 1971 to 2003 because The Swamp was a house of horrors for visiting teams.
Now it's just another stadium where Florida finds new ways to disappoint its fan base.
DeSantis nailed it when he called this "rock bottom" for the Gators.
The only question is whether things can actually get worse before they get better.
¹ WVLT Sports, "Tennessee battles Florida, seeking first win in Gainesville since 2003," November 23, 2025.
² USA Today Network, "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis laments Tennessee blowout of Gators: 'Rock bottom,'" November 24, 2025.
³ OutKick, "Things Have Gotten So Bad For The Gators, Even Ron DeSantis Is Ranting About It," November 23, 2025.
⁴ Sports Illustrated Fastball, "From Little League World Series to Yale: A Look at Ron DeSantis' Baseball Career," November 15, 2022.
⁵ ESPN, "Florida fires coach Billy Napier after 3-4 start in 2025," October 19, 2025.
⁶ Saturday Down South, "In the end, Billy Napier's play-calling pride doomed his process and tenure at Florida," October 20, 2025.
⁷ Gatorsports.com, "Florida football vs Tennessee, Gators look to continue home win streak," November 22, 2025.
⁸ University of Tennessee Athletics, "#20 Vols Triumph In The Swamp, Take Down Gators 31-11," November 22, 2025.
⁹ CBS Sports, "No. 20 Tennessee dominates Florida and wins in the Swamp for the first time since 2003," November 23, 2025.
