Florida DT Easley Out for the Season, LSU Mettenberger Returns Home

First the #20 Florida Gators (2-1, 1-0) lost quarterback Jeff Driskel (broken leg) last week now they’ll be without senior defensive tackle Dominque Easley. He tore his ACL and medial meniscus in his right knee during Tuesday’s practice; he will have surgery on it and is done for the season.

Dominique Easley

Florida head coach Will Muschamp said on Wednesday via Gatorzone.com, “As I said earlier today on the SEC Conference Call, Dominique injured his right knee in practice in a non-contact situation. Test results have revealed that he suffered a tear of both his ACL and medial meniscus, which will require season-ending surgery.”

He added, “Obviously, it is hardest on Dominique. We are disappointed for him, but we will be there for him every step of the way through his surgery and rehab process.”

For Easley, this is his second torn ACL; the first time came in 2011 on his left knee during the team’s last regular-season game. Easley was absent from Florida’s Gator Bowl appearance but returned last season and played in 11 games, amassing 26 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss and four sacks. Just recently Easley had said he was feeling like his old self after having to get used to the game again.

This season to-date, Easley had four quarterback hurries with two tackles for loss. Looking ahead without this key player, the team will play either senior Damien Jacobs or junior Leon Orr for Saturday’s game against Kentucky (1-2).

As for its quarterback situation, on Monday when Florida released its depth chart, it named quarterback junior Tyler Murphy as the starter with redshirt freshman Skyler Mornhinweg as his backup. When Driskel went down last Saturday, Murphy came into the game and replaced him.

This week’s game will represent his first career start and from Saturday’s partial game, he went 8 of 14 passes, 134 yards, one touchdown; he also rushed for 84 yards with one score.

Lucky for him, Kentucky is battling their own quarterback issues as starter Maxwell Smith left last week’s game against Louisville (4-0) with an injury to his left shoulder. The team is hopeful he’ll return.

Kentucky hasn’t defeated Florida since Nov. 15, 1986. This will continue as the Gators get the win (-12.5, 46 o/u).

In other news from the East…

Maryland Sits at 4-0

O.k., so they’re not exactly a football powerhouse, but the ACC’s Maryland is undefeated at 4-0. The Terps will get this week off before beginning conference play on October 5 against #8 Florida State (3-0, 1-0).

As for keys to this team’s success coach Randy Edsall said to ESPN that his players are not selfish and the defense has improved as the players are better dealing with the fundamentals and their roles.

Sorry Terps fans, the team isn’t on the radar for the 2014 BCS National Championship but Florida State sits at 12/1 for the win.

Mettenberger Ready to Return Home 

On Saturday, #9 Georgia (2-1, 1-0) will host #6 LSU (4-0). They are used to playing tough teams this season as they started September out with games against two Top 10 ones, with LSU making it the third one for its fourth game.

Zach Mettenberger

There’s a lot of storylines for this matchup but one of the more interesting ones is the homecoming of LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger. The former Bulldog was on the team but was dismissed in 2010. His mom still works for the university and it will be a return that the player has said he’s looking forward to being over.

Fortunately he’ll enter the game with great stats. He has 10 scoring passes with 1,026 yards passing–the most for an LSU quarterback after four games. In the recent UAB game, he had his five touchdown passes, which set a school single-game record. Mettenberger sits as No. 2 in the conference for passing efficiency.

Yep, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray sits in the No. 1 spot.

Look for a loud stadium and a Georgia win (-3, 62 o/u).