Florida QB John Brantley Likely To Play Against Georgia, Says Will Muschamp

Two of the Gators’ losses were of the blowout variety against the consensus No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. This week they face a Georgia squad that has won five straight after starting the season with two straight losses against ranked opponents.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates on Brantley’s health. For more on the Gators, check out Florida blog Alligator Army.

Florida are on a bye week this week, and it seems to have come at the perfect time. The Gators have lost three straight and they probably need to run the table to clinch themselves a spot in a January bowl game. If Brantley still isn’t practicing, it seems unlikely that he could have played in a game this week.

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Friday, the Florida Gators announced freshman quarterback Jacoby Brissett will start his second straight game, confirming an earlier report. Jeff Driskel’s injury has healed to the point that Charlie Weis has said both quarterbacks could be used against the Auburn Tigers, however.

To catch you up if you’re just joining us, regular starter John Brantley was hurt against the Alabama Crimson Tide. Backup Driskel was also hurt against Bama. Brissett split snaps with versatile whosy whatsit Trey Burton last week against the LSU Tigers. It went about as well as could’ve been hoped.

Brissett looked every bit the freshman last week, going 8-for-14 passing for 94 yards and two interceptions to one touchdown. The performance was almost admirable in the face of one of the best defenses in college football, however. Unfortunately, the loss dropped Florida just out of both polls this week.

For more on the Gators’ quarterback situation, head over to Alligator Army. For more the Tigers, be sure to visit Track Em Tigers.

Driskel was expected to start all week before reports of that he might be limited with an ankle injury. Brissett has yet to see action this year, but the team is apparently prepared to burn his redshirt no matter who starts -- ESPN’s College Gameday reported earlier today that both Driskel and Brissett are expected to see action. Now Murphy, a redshirt freshman who dressed for every game in 2010 but never saw action, is technically in the mix, although the smart money is on this remaining a two-horse race between Driskel and Brissett.

Despite the lack of anything concrete, it sounds like Brissett, a true freshman, will burn his redshirt today. There had been rumors that Brissett had been climbing the depth chart anyway, so this could be a case of the Gators’ coaching staff using Driskel’s injury to promote the guy they want.

Be sure to head over to Alligator Army for more on the Gators’ quarterback shuffle.

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In the list above, only two quarterbacks got their first career starts against a defense ranked better than even 68th in terms of Def. F/+: Mallett and Clausen. None of them had to face even a Top 30 right out of the gates.

Driskel’s first two relevant quarters as a college quarterback came against Alabama, one of probably the two best defenses in the country. His final passing line: 2-for-6 for 14 yards and a sack. He also carried the ball five times for 26 yards. The next four quarters of Driskel’s career will come against the other of the top two defenses in college football: LSU. This is a particularly vengeful turn of events.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates on Brantley’s health. For more on the Gators, check out Alligator Army.

It was an ugly hit, but it’s impossible to say until he’s examined further if he merely tweaked the knee or suffered a more serious injury such as a torn ACL or MCL. For what it’s worth, Gators running back Chris Rainey isn’t too concerned:

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates on Brantley’s health. For more on the Gators, check out Alligator Army.

The extent of Brantley’s injury is still unknown. As you can see above, his right knee took most of the damage, and he clearly favored the leg as he left the field. After reaching the sidelines, he was carted off the field to the locker room.

Immediately, Brantley clutched his right knee, staying down on the ground for quite some time before trainers picked him up to help him off the field. Brantley headed straight to the locker room -- halftime was only seconds away -- but was barely able to put weight on his right leg, eventually just holding it in the air while using the trainers as a crutch.