Florida Gators 2011: 3 Reasons There Is Still Hope for the Gators Season

The Florida Gators suffered their third straight loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide 38-10 on Saturday in the Swamp.

More important than losing the game was losing quarterback John Brantley to what is being reported as a high-ankle sprain. If the reports of a high-ankle sprain are true, Brantley will be holding a clipboard for the foreseeable future. 

In steps freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel. Driskel has seen very limited action to this point of the season, and his learning curve will be steep. His baptism by fire will start this Saturday in Baton Rouge against No. 1 LSU. LSU brings the nations ninth overall defense into the game and will be chomping at the bit to get pressure on the freshman. 

While most of Gator nation goes into panic mode, there is a light at the end of the tunnel Gator fans.

Here are three reasons why. 

Charlie Weis spent the entire offseason installing a pro-style system tailored for John Brantley. Before going down with his injury, Brantley was having his best career game against Alabama. The offense has looked much better than it did the past two seasons, and Weis is the reason.

Charlie will have only a week to work the freshman into his offense and begin to tailor some offensive packages for Driskel. This will not be a repeat of last season where the coaches keep trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Weis will tinker and make the necessary changes in his offense to better suit Jeff Driskel's strengths. 

While Driskel is not a prototypical pocket passer, he has an above-average arm and has shown that he is a threat to run if his receivers can't get open. Driskel showed off his speed and running ability on a 31-yard run against Alabama, bringing a feeling of Tim Tebow nostalgia to Gator fans.

Driskel may not succeed right away, but he was the consensus No. 1 high school quarterback for a reason. Driskel must have thick skin these next two weeks. Playing at LSU and Auburn is not an ideal situation to start your career, but Driskel has the talent to succeed in Weis' offense. 

The last reason that there is still hope for the Gators season is that winning the SEC East is still a very real possibility. The Gators could lose to both LSU and Auburn, and it will not effect their chances in the SEC.

After a very tough two game stretch, the Gators will get a much-needed bye week before their must-win game in Jacksonville against rival Georgia. The bye week could not come at a better time for the Gators as it will give Brantley another week to get healthy or give Weis and Driskel two full weeks to come up with a game plan for Georgia. 

For Florida to win the SEC East, they will need to beat Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. All three of these games are winnable for the Gators with either quarterback at the helm. The biggest test will be a road trip to Columbia, South Carolina for a matchup against the Ole Ball Coach.

The game will likely be carrying SEC championship implications with the winner representing the East. 

Brantley going down is not a good thing for the Gators, but their season is far from over.