Get ready for an ugly Orange and Blue Game.
It might as well be called "Preview of the Fourth Quarter of the Charleston Southern Game."
Then again, that's pretty long for a marquee.
It must be something in the water in Gainesville. Last year the team lost eight players to ACL injuries by the time confetti was falling in Miami. The injury bug is getting an early jump on the Gators in 2009.
Guys you won't be seeing in The Swamp on Saturday: Janoris Jenkins, Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, Carlos Dunlap, David Nelson, Justin Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, Terron Sanders, Brandon Antwine, Brandon James, Jeff Demps (he's running track), Riley Cooper (baseball), Brandon Hicks, A.J. Jones, James Wilson, Steven Wilks and Desmond Parks.
Aside from the last two, those Gators all will be in competition for starting spots for the season opener, and nine (Jenkins, the Pounceys, Dunlap, Nelson, James, Demps, Cooper, Marsh) of them are virtual locks for Sept. 5.
While this is bad news for fans driving to Gainesville on Saturday, it is only a minor setback for a UF team hoping to be the first repeat champions since Nebraska in 1994-95. (Sorry, USC, your split crown in '03 isn't cutting it.)
Every one of the currently injured players is expected to return for fall besides Wilks, a promising fullback, but Meyer has done just fine without a fullback in the past.
It has also given lesser-known players a chance to shine, and this could pay dividends later.
Redshirt freshman Sam Robey has stepped up in the absence of Maurkice Pouncey, and now Robey looks like a legitimate prospect to start or play significant time at center in the fall. Pouncey could slide back to right guard where he earned Freshman All-America honors two years ago.
"He's still a young guy, but he's a guy that's showing us signs that he can really give us quality depth," offensive coordinator and line coach Steve Addazio said earlier this spring. "That gives you more flexibility."
Another younger guy who has had a breakout spring is defensive tackle Jaye Howard. The redshirt sophomore gained weight and moved from end to tackle and will now provide depth in the fall at one of the Gators' weakest positions.
Wide receiver Frankie Hammond has also made some noise in the past three-plus weeks. Nelson is injured, Cooper is on the diamond, Thompson missed part of the spring, and the redshirt freshman Hammond, who earned some praise last fall but never played, has gotten a good look from the coaches.
Don't worry, though. You'll still be able to get a copy of Urban Meyer's book, "Urban's Way," autographed by the man himself Saturday morning, and you can still watch the Powder Puff Championship at noon, or even the Fastest Gator on Campus race just before kickoff. All will likely be better fare than the glorified scrimmage that follows.
Then 20 weeks from now, as UF enters the fourth quarter of its rout of Charleston Southern, fans will experience déjà vu.
They will remember a day back in April when they saw the "Preview of the Fourth Quarter of the Charleston Southern Game."
