Florida WR Vernell Brown III listed doubtful for Oklahoma, likely to miss a fifth game
Florida receiver Vernell Brown III is doubtful with a knee injury for Saturday's game against Oklahoma, and has not played since Sept. 26.
Florida will probably go without wide receiver Vernell Brown III for a fifth straight game. He was listed as doubtful on Wednesday's initial SEC availability report for Saturday night's home game against Oklahoma. Roundtable Sports noted that he was one of three players across the report given that tag, and ClutchPoints said the designation will shape the offensive plan Jon Sumrall puts together.
Brown has been out since the Sept. 26 win over Ole Miss. According to 247Sports, he has a grade-1 PCL strain that flared up again last week. He was listed as probable for Georgia early in the week, then was moved to questionable and did not play. Sumrall said Monday that the knee had swollen again and Brown woke up with less range of motion, telling 247Sports that "the swelling was more noticeable and the range of motion had decreased." RotoWire reported that he missed Monday's practice.
The receiver room is getting thinner. Bailey Stockton is questionable with a foot injury, On3 reported. Starting defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud is suspended for the game, and starting right tackle Emeka Ugorji, linebacker Jaden Robinson and tight end Evan Chieca are all ruled out. Defensive end Emmanuel Oyebadejo is questionable. Roundtable Sports also reported that Sumrall had not named a quarterback yet. Aaron Philo threw two interceptions against Georgia before Tramell Jones Jr. came on in relief.
What it means for Saturday
The numbers with and without Brown are hard to ignore. Florida opened 4-0 with him on the field and averaged 53.5 points, a stretch that included a 44-39 win at Auburn and a 52-28 win over Ole Miss. Without him, the Gators have gone 1-3 and averaged 17.8 points. The one win was a 27-24 upset at Texas, sandwiched between lopsided losses to Missouri and South Carolina and last week's 27-8 loss to Georgia. Even so, Florida came in at No. 24 in the first College Football Playoff rankings.
Oklahoma arrives at 4-4 after losing two of its last three, most recently 42-25 at home to South Carolina. The Sooners' best result is a 27-24 win over a top-ranked Texas team. Their offense has averaged 22 points a game, and ClutchPoints reported that the program fired offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, with Jason Witten taking over play-calling for this game. Oklahoma's defense has been the steadier unit, giving up 20.8 points per game, though Georgia and South Carolina each scored more than 40 against it.
The board has Florida favored by 6.5 points on Novig at -100. The best Florida spread anywhere is BetRivers' -5.5 at -122. On the moneyline, Florida is -223 at Novig and Oklahoma is +208, and FanDuel's -220 is the best Florida price among the 12 venues, so the venues sit close together. Sportsbook hold runs from 3.3% to 6.6% on the moneyline. The total is 45.5 at Novig, and DraftKings is the lowest at 44.5. That number suggests a lower-scoring game than Florida's early-season pace, which fits an offense that may again be without its most productive receiver.
Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m. on SEC Network.
