Florida tight end Jordan Reed can't hold on to this pass in the end zone as Auburn defensive back Neiko Thorpe defends in the first half.
Florida tight end Jordan Reed can't hold on to this pass in the end zone as Auburn defensive back Neiko Thorpe defends in the first half. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida's injury problems are starting to build with two more key players on the sidelines for Saturday night's game with Auburn.
The Gators were reduced to starting true freshman Jacoby Brissett at quarterback for the second week in a row. Starter John Brantley remained out with a high ankle injury suffered against Alabama, and his backup, Jeff Driskel , was also coming back from an ankle problem but dressed on Saturday after sitting out the LSU contest.
The newest problems included Ronald Powell , who was replaced in Florida's starting lineup at the buck (defensive end, linebacker) position by William Green , a senior from Hoover, Ala.
Powell did not dress for the contest, along with running back Jeff Demps (ankle). It was the third straight week he was hurting.
Back, however, was receiver Quinton Dunbar , who missed last week's game because of what coach Will Muschamp called personal issues. He started, but the sophomore from Miami had just five catches in his first five games.
Auburn coach Gene Chizik grew up in Clearwater and played football at Florida. Saturday was the first time he'd faced his alma mater as a head coach, but he put little weight on it.
"It's not about me. This is about another great SEC week for Auburn and another great opportunity for our team," he said.
Things might have been a little odd at times for Muschamp as well. He was the Tigers' defensive coordinator from 2006 to 2007.
Florida came into Saturday's game with a six-game losing streak against teams from the SEC West, dating to the 2009 SEC title game loss to Alabama.
The Gators lost all three of their contests against West clubs last year — Alabama, LSU and Mississippi State — during the only three-game losing streak Urban Meyer had in six years as UF's head coach. This year the Gators lost to Alabama and LSU again leading into the Auburn contest.
In Florida's two national-title years under Meyer, the Gators lost one game each season, to Auburn (2006) and Ole Miss (2008).
It's a little odd for a non-BCS bowl to keep sending a representative to a school's games this early in the season, but the Gator Bowl was at UF's game at Auburn and had someone at the Gators' game at LSU the previous week.
With early SEC losses to LSU and Alabama, this could be the year Florida plays in the Jacksonville bowl after coming close a couple of times in recent seasons. The game is now known as the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl and will be played on Jan. 2 this season.
Kyle Christy replaced David Lerner in the starting lineup at punter for the Gators. He unloaded a 67-yard punt late in the first quarter, the longest by a UF kicker this season. His second punt was 53 yards. They were the two longest punts this season by Florida. Lerner, who punted in the other six games, has a longest punt of 50. … Florida has its one open date of the season next week before facing Georgia on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville, the Gators' third straight game away from Florida Field.
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