John Brantley Injury: Gators Will Be Doomed vs. LSU Without Brantley

Early on in this past Saturday's tilt with Alabama, it looked like the Florida Gators and quarterback John Brantley in particular were on their way to a day they would never forget.

If you watched the whole game, you'll know that the wheels fell off. Coincidentally, they fell off right around the time when Brantley had to be helped off the field with what looked like a nasty injury to his right leg.

For now, it's definitely nasty enough to keep Brantley out this week. Courtesy of The Florida Times-Union, we know that Gators head coach Will Muschamp has ruled Brantley out for this Saturday's game.

Which, unfortunately for the Gators, will be against the No. 1 LSU Tigers. As if that wasn't bad enough, defending the No. 17 Gators from ruin will be freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel, though Muschamp says he reserves the right to change his mind at any point this week.

Personally, I don't think it really matters who Muschamp decides to run out there against the Tigers. The point is that it won't be Brantley, and that's a serious blow to Florida's chances.

The reason I say this is because there is really only one way that LSU's top-shelf defense can be beaten, and that's through the air, as only three teams in the SEC have given up more passing yards than the Tigers have. The numbers are slightly misleading, but there's no arguing that it is much more advisable to throw against them than it is to run against them.

Brantley is by no means an elite quarterback, mind you, but he had been playing some solid football up until he was injured. His inexcusable pick-six notwithstanding, Brantley was even playing well against Alabama, completing 11 of his 16 passes for 190 yards.

With Brantley out, there's no point in sugarcoating the fact that the Gators are going to be at a huge disadvantage against the Tigers, against whom there is very little margin for error.

Making matters worse is the fact that Driskel is largely untested. He played the entire second half against Alabama, yet completed just two of his six passes for 14 yards. Assuming Muschamp chooses to stick with him against LSU, Driskel is going to be tested, and he's going to have to pass with flying colors if the Gators are to have any chance of winning.

It could happen. It's just not a great idea to expect it to happen.