At the rate things are going, the team that wins the SEC East might just be whichever one still has enough players to field a team by the end of the season.
Florida is currently clinging to the division lead after both it and Kentucky lost over the weekend, but as the Gators prepare to face former coach Will Muschamp and South Carolina on Saturday, they have a host of injuries to deal with.
Coach Jim McElwain announced Monday that quarterback Luke Del Rio will not play against the Gamecocks. McElwain said Del Rio will be "out for a while" with a shoulder injury and that he's undergoing an MRI.
"When you can't lift your duffel bag up, chances are something's hurt," McElwain said about his quarterback.
Del Rio has already missed two games this season due to injury, including the Gators' 38-28 loss to Tennessee. He was replaced by Austin Appleby in those games, and Appleby will get the first chance to start in Del Rio's place.
As if that wasn't a big enough blow, McElwain also confirmed on Monday that linebacker Alex Anzalone will miss the rest of the season with a broken arm. Anzalone is the team's second-leading tackler behind fellow linebacker Jarrad Davis.
Speaking of Davis, he's "probably" going to miss the South Carolina game as well with a bad ankle. And if those three injuries aren't enough to put Florida's hold of the division lead in peril, there are even more.
McElwain also announced that starting center Cameron Dillard will not play against South Carolina (he may also be done for the year with a knee injury), and starting defensive end CeCe Jefferson is a game-time decision.
In other words, if Florida is going to win the SEC East this season, it's going to be relying on a lot of reserves to get the job done.
