No Todd Gurley, no Keith Marshall and no Sony Michel have been no problem for Georgia for quite a while. Saturday, it’ll be lather, rinse, repeat in UGA’s backfield for the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.
As previously reported, Gurley, suspended for two more games by the NCAA earlier this week, won’t play against Florida after his appeal was denied. Additionally, both the Macon Telegraph‘s Seth Emerson and 247Sports.com‘s Gentry Estes are reporting that Marshall didn’t travel with the team to Jacksonville and, thus, won’t play in the annual rivalry game.
Marshall has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury -- presumably the high-ankle variety -- in the Sept. 20 win over Troy, with Saturday marking the fifth consecutive game he will have missed. This season, the former four-star running back has rushed for just 24 yards on 12 carries.
Additionally, Sony Michel is doubtful with a shoulder injury he suffered a week after Marshall’s injury. Michel is still currently third on the team in rushing with 223 yards.
As has been the case since Gurley’s autographs-for-money issues surfaced, Nick Chubb will shoulder the bulk of the running-game load against the Gators.
The first five games of the season, the true freshman ran for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The last two, those numbers are 345 and three, including a career-high 202 in the win over Arkansas two weeks ago. In those two games, Chubb is responsible for 68 of the 86 running back carries; in the win over the Razorbacks, it was 30 to three.