Voltar
The Florida Gators are scheduled to take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the Swamp at 7:45 p.m. EST on Saturday evening. Both teams have three losses in the conference, and it's a must win for the Gators if they want to keep their waning College Football Playoff hopes alive.
To pull off the win, they're once again going to need to do it without one of their top offensive weapons. Vernell Brown III is officially not expected to play against Oklahoma, according to Pete Nakos.
Brown has not played since September 26th in the statement win against Ole Miss and has missed the Gators last four games.
The Gators have gone 1-3 in the games that Brown has missed.
“The thing I want to make abundantly clear here is he’s trying like hell to play,” head coach Jon Sumrall said earlier this week. “I really don’t have a strong feeling on timeline… I think now we’re probably going to make sure he gets fully right before trying to return, so I don’t have a great answer for you.”
Brown has tallied 17 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns in the four games he has played in this year.
The Gators will continue to rely on Bailey Stockton, Eric Singleton Jr., and Dallas Wilson to keep leading the charge in the receiver room against a stout Sooner defense. Winston is the Gators' leading receiver at 417 yards and three touchdowns on the season. Stockton comes in next at 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Oklahoma is seventh in the SEC in points per game, giving up just 20.8 per contest.
They're strong against the pass, with the conference's fourth-best passing defense at 175.4 yards per game. By comparison, the Gators are 13th at 235.8 yards per game. This might be the perfect opportunity for Florida to get running back Jadan Baugh back on track. He rushed for just 38 yards in last week's loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, but the Sooner defense is 10th in the conference against the run at 129.3 yards per game.
Quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. is making his second start of the season. While the Gators will be without one of their most important weapons again, Jones helped lead Florida to an upset in Austin over the Longhorns with Brown out as well.
The Gators kick off on Saturday night at 7:30 PM against the Sooners in the Swamp on SEC Network.
Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and X for the latest news!