Florida and Georgia meet in their annual rivalry showdown Saturday, and both teams need a big win to get their seasons back on track. The Bulldogs have been decimated by injuries this year, but they should get a few starters back for this weekend's game. The Gators, on the other hand, are adding to their list of walking wounded.
The big news for Mark Richt's team is that star running back Todd Gurley should be back in action. Gurley left the 44-41 win over LSU with a knee injury, and he's missed the three games since. His return will provide a huge boost to the running game, which has also been without Keith Marshall. Marshall suffered a season-ending knee injury against Tennessee a week after Gurley's injury.
On defense, the Dawgs are expected to get safeties Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemons back on the field, according to Marc Weiszer at the Athens Banner Herald. Matthews has missed the last three games with a pulled hamstring, and Harvey-Clemons injured his foot two weeks ago against Vanderbilt and had to leave the game.
For Florida, the body count just keeps piling up. Offensive tackle D.J. Humphries -- the Gators' best offensive tackle -- has a sprained MCL and will miss two to four weeks. As Andy Hutchins at Alligator Army points out, Humphries' injury is the latest issue to shake up Florida's offensive line:
Humphries is just a true sophomore, but he's Florida's most experienced offensive tackle and has started every game this season. His injury means that Florida will likely be starting new players at both left and right tackles on Saturday against Georgia: Tyler Moore and Max Garcia will likely share time at left tackle, with Moore starting, while Trenton Brown will be replacing Tyler Moore at right tackle. If Garcia ends up moving from his starting spot at left guard to left tackle, Florida could also shift Moore inside, but it will more likely use versatile backup Kyle Koehne in Garcia's stead in that configuration.
Humphries is only the latest Gator to be sidelined. Florida has already lost eight players for the year due to various injuries, illustrated in the chart below via Alligator Army:
Player | Position | Injury | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Andre Debose | WR | Torn ACL | August 6 |
Matt Rolin | OLB | Torn ACL | August 8 |
Chaz Green | RT | Torn labrum | ~August 26 |
Nick Washington | CB | Shoulder | September 11 |
Jeff Driskel | QB | Broken fibula | September 21 |
Dominique Easley | DT | Torn ACL, meniscus | September 24 |
Matt Jones | RB | Torn meniscus | October 12 |
Jeremi Powell | LB | Torn ACL | October 19 |
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