Florida (4-3 straight up, 4-2-1 against the spread) senior cornerback Jason Marshall is out for the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury sustained in UF’s 48-20 win over Kentucky two weeks ago.
Marshall started 39 times in 45 career games for the Gators from 2021-24. In seven games this year, he has 20 tackles, four passes broken up, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
Marshall started seven games as a true freshman, contributing 23 tackles, three passes broken up, two TFL’s and one interception. In 2022, he produced 29 tackles, eight PBU, one interception and one TFL.
As a junior last season, Marshall had 26 tackles, 10 PBU, three TFL’s and one sack. With 25 career PBU, he ranks #25 all-time in SEC history.
Marshall’s 10 PBU in 2022 were third-most in the SEC.
Without Marshall, sophomore CB Dijon Johnson will start Saturday vs. Georgia. Junior CB Devin Moore will get more playing time along with CB Cormani McClain, who had a pick-six in his first playing time of the season in the fourth quarter of the win over Kentucky.
McClain was the nation’s #1 cornerback coming out of high school as a five-star prospect in the 2023 class. He spent his freshman season at Colorado.
Moore has played in six games for Florida this year, recording 15 tackles, two PBU and one interception that he returned for 52 yards. In the win over the Wildcats, Moore had seven tackles, two PBU and the interception.
Florida won’t have WR Eugene Wilson in Saturday’s showdown vs. Georgia. Safety Asa Turner also remains ‘out.’
Whether star RB Montrell Johnson will be able to go remains to be seen. Johnson is listed as ‘questionable’ after leaving the Tennessee game with a lower-body injury.
Johnson, who missed the win over Kentucky, has 373 rushing yards, four TDs and a 5.3 yards-per-carry average in six games this season. He also has 13 catches for 64 yards.
As of this morning, most books had Georgia installed as a 14.5-point favorite with a total of 52 or 52.5 points. The Gators were +500 on the money line.
UGA has won three in a row over UF and six of the last seven head-to-head meetings. Prio to that, however, the Gators had won 21 of the 27 previous encounters dating back to 1990.
I made a small play on Florida +17 early in the week. However, when the news about Marshall and Wilson came out Wednesday night, I was having buyer’s remorse even though the Gators are 5-2 against the spread as double-digit underdogs during Billy Napier’s disastrous three-year tenure.
Nevertheless, the line moved early Thursday afternoon from UGA -16.5 to -14.5 or -15. At that point, I came back with UGA -14 (buying half-point for -120 juice) for 50 percent of what I risked on my original UF +17 wager.