GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators have a reclamation project this week. They want to reclaim a reputation.

They want to turn Ben Hill Griffin Stadium into The Swamp again.

"This is our house and nobody's going to take that from us," Florida defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "We're going to bring that feeling back."

That's a nice rallying cry for this week's top-10 Saturday night showdown with Tennessee. Backing it up is the hard part.

There was never anything mystical or mysterious about The Swamp. It was just Florida Field until Steve Spurrier became the coach.

You want to bring back the feeling? Then bring back Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, Fred Taylor, Mo Collins, Jevon Kearse and all those other Gators who turned Ben Hill Griffin Stadium into The Swamp.

That was in the 1990s when every Florida quarterback put up numbers like Dan Marino in 1984. A good night for an opponent in The Swamp was a close loss. A coach would have concluded a realistic pep talk with: "Don't get embarrassed."

Easier said.

In Spurrier's first home game, the Gators beat Oklahoma State 50-7 in the 1990 season opener. He didn't lose there until the last home game of 1993.

The Gators were so upset about losing in The Swamp, they won their next two home games 79-21 and 73-7.

The Vols gave up 48 unanswered points in The Swamp in 1995. Peyton Manning lost the Heisman Trophy there in 1997.

In 1996, Florida averaged 56.8 points in six home games. In 11 years, from 1990 through 2000, the Gators lost only four home games.

The 12th year didn't start out much differently. The Gators averaged 52.8 points in winning their first five home games. No wonder, they were a 17-point favorite to beat UT on the way to the SEC championship game and maybe even a national title.

But since UT pulled off that historic 34-32 upset, The Swamp hasn't been the same.

First, Spurrier resigned. Then the Gators hired Ron Zook. Next thing you know, they were losing their second home game of 2002, 41-16 to the Miami Hurricanes. Five weeks later, they lost at home to LSU, 36-7.

In 2003, they lost three home games for the first time in 17 years. Last year, they lost at home to LSU for the second time in three years.

Now, here comes UT again, a Big Orange reminder that The Swamp isn't what it used to be.

The Vols are going for their third consecutive victory in Gainesville. No one has accomplished that since LSU in 1978, 1980 and 1982.

Meyer is doing his best to revitalize The Swamp.

He didn't allow his players to scrimmage or practice there in preseason. He wants them to understand "that's a sacred place."

He also has instituted the "Gator Walk" in which players walk from the team bus to the stadium through a gauntlet of fans before the game. And after each home game, the players unite with fans in the northeast corner of the stadium to sing the alma mater and school fight song.

Another song is on the Gators' mind this week.

Two years ago, after UT defeated Florida, quarterback Casey Clausen stood on a ladder and directed the UT band in playing "Rocky Top."

"Tears were almost rolling down my cheeks," Florida linebacker Todd McCullough said at Tuesday's interview session. "I hated it so bad. ... I won't ever forget it."

Other Gators won't forget what UT did to them in The Swamp in 2001. But in 2003, they couldn't do anything about it.

Two years later, Mincey says, "We're going to make it look like it was 1996. We'll get The Swamp back if we win this game."

And if they don't?

Then the Vols can brag about their second home in Florida.

It's not on the beach. It's in The Swamp.