No. 10 Florida will be down more than a dozen players for Saturday night's game vs. Missouri, including starting defensive backs Marco Wilson, Shawn Davis and Donovan Stiner. If that wasn't enough to concern coach Dan Mullen, a total of eight players in the defensive backfield will be unavailable.
Starting kicker Evan McPherson, one of the nations' best at his position, is also among the players who will sit out of the game.
The news comes after the program was shutdown due to positive COVID-19 tests among the players and coaching staff. A total of 37 football players and at least three coaches -- including Mullen -- tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the start of October. As a result, the Gators haven't played a game since Oct. 10 when they fell at Texas A&M.
NCAA guidelines state that players who test positive must sit out for 10 days and players who have been in "high risk" contact with infected individuals must quarantine for 14 days. "High risk" contact is defined as being within six feet of an infected individual for 15 or more minutes without a facial covering.
The Gators and Tigers will kick at 7:30 p.m. ET in Gainesville, Florida, as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium hosts a key SEC East battle. Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak has thrown for 200 or more yards in three straight games, including a 406-yard, four-touchdown performance vs. defending national champion LSU on Oct. 10.
