10 College Football Teams Most Affected by Injuries This Season

If there is one thing that breaks the spirit of a team, it is losing players to injury. Whether it’s a group of players who all go down, the loss of a star player or a combination of the two, promising seasons can go down the tubes with one awkward landing.

Many teams this season have been bitten by the injury bug, and it has ruined their expectations for the season.

Here are the ten teams hurt most by injuries in 2011.

Missouri

The Tigers get a nod here for the absolutely freak injury that happened to running back Henry Josey. In a single play that is described by doctors as “one in a million,” he suffered a torn left patellar tendon and torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments.

"Because of where he tore it … it was not (even) a simple patellar tendon rupture, which made it even that much more complicated," the team doctor said. "Had to fix that, had to fix the meniscus, and the cartilages both were torn. And the MCL had to be both repaired and reconstructed."

Wow.

Florida

Florida’s resurgence was largely dependent on quarterback John Brantley’s ability to learn and execute Charlie Weis’ pro-style offense.

When he went down, the Gators lost the following two games. In Brantley's first game back against Georgia, he completed an abysmal 35 percent of his passes. They didn't have a passing touchdown the past two games. It seems as though this team has given up on the season now.

Tennessee

Like Florida, Tennessee needed quarterback Tyler Bray to be healthy. Many thought he could be the best quarterback in the conference but a broken thumb ended that dream and, for the most part, the Volunteers' season.

Without their star player, this team went 1-4 with their one win coming against Middle Tennessee State. In those losses, the team failed to score in the double digits. Yikes. Bray finally returned to duty tonight against Vanderbilt.

USC

Six players are done for the season with injuries, and USC has also been riddled with suspensions, including one to primary running back Marc Tyler.

Now, Lane Kiffin is saying all-everything receiver Robert Woods may not play against Oregon this weekend. The odds of the Trojans pulling the upset were already slim, and they could go to nonexistent without him in the game.

Nebraska

First it, was Alfonzo Dennard, and now it’s Jared Crick. The Blackshirt defense has never been able to recover from its defensive injuries this season, and rank a pedestrian 36th in the country in scoring defense.

They have given up 27 or more points in five games this season, and flat out cannot stop mobile quarterbacks. The team is still highly ranked, but this was not the season Husker fans were hoping for.

South Carolina

When Marcus Lattimore was injured, the season ended for South Carolina. He was far and away the team’s best offensive players, and the Gamecocks have scored 17 or less points in three of the past four games.

The problem was only compounded when Stephen Garcia was kicked off the team. They likely won’t win the SEC East because of the injury.

Virginia Tech

The biggest losses for Virginia Tech were on the defensive side of the ball, where three members of the starting defensive front seven are lost for the year, including leading tackler Bruce Taylor.

Wide receiver Dyrell Roberts started out the year strong after getting injured in 2010, but he was injured again and is also done for the season.

So far the Hokies have battled through those injuries, but it could hurt against top teams.

Arizona State

There may not be a team in the country more hurt by injuries this season than Arizona State. The Sun Devils have an incredible seven players out for the season, including linebacker Brandon Magee and cornerback Omar Bolden.

This team was ranked because it had so many returning starters, but now a lot of them can’t play, and it is the reason why this team is only 6-4 right now.

Stanford

Speaking of Pac-12 teams with injuries, Stanford has been without a bunch of their playmakers at various times during the season. Receiver Chris Owusu has caught no breaks this season—he’s been brutally hit on five separate occasions this year and suffered a concussion.

Tight end Zach Ertz has been a huge loss in the passing game as well, but no loss may have been felt more than that of linebacker Shayne Skov, who was poised for a breakout year.

Colorado

The Buffaloes have lost an astonishing 12 players for the season between injuries and suspension, and six more have some type of nagging injury that could limit their time this Saturday. That doesn’t include the knee sprain sustained by Rodney Stewart, who is by far the team’s biggest playmaker.

Oh, and nine of the players who are out are from the secondary. There’s a reason why Colorado is 2-9 in the pass-happy Pac-12.