Officials continue to monitor Hurricane Matthew as the Florida-LSU matchup approaches. (File photo)
Gators vs. LSU: A game of unknowns (Hurricane Matthew, Del Rio, Fournette)
Wednesday, October 5, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
As Hurricane Matthew churns off the coast of Florida, game remains on for Saturday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida-LSU game on Saturday remains wrapped in a package of unknowns.
Will quarterback Luke Del Rio return for the Gators? Will star running back Leonard Fournette play for the Tigers?
Oh, and will the game be played at all with Hurricane Matthew churning off the coast of the Sunshine State and causing havoc for weekend plans?
First, the game.
Florida officials continue to monitor Hurricane Matthew's status closely and as of Wednesday night, the game remains on. While UF has cancelled classes on Friday in preparation for Matthew's impact on the region, a final decision about the game is expected before 1 p.m. Thursday.
"Obviously, well aware of what could happen and the preparation for that,'' Gators coach Jim McElwain said Wednesday. "We'll figure it out when that happens. As always, our concerns are obviously with the people that are going to be affected by whatever comes our way.
"Right now, we're planning to go ahead with whatever the plans were. Whatever it is, you just adjust and get ready to go. Same for them."
LSU President F. King Alexander told the Baton Rouge Advocate on Wednesday that the Tigers still plan to travel to Florida but will land in Tampa instead of Ocala.
Meanwhile, Del Rio has picked up his pace at practice after missing the past two games with a left knee injury. Austin Appleby has started the past two games and continues to split time with Del Rio, who started the first three games.
"[Luke's] been pretty good,'' McElwain said. "Right now we're still splitting them, a little more with Austin."
McElwain said Del Rio is dealing with soreness and stiffness in the knee and is being evaluated closely. McElwain was pleased at Del Rio's progress after Wednesday's practice.
Del Rio was injured in the win over North Texas when he was hit low. He has worn a knee brace since returning to practice last week.
"He got back on the horse today and I thought looked pretty good moving, side-stepping and doing some things moving in the pocket and stuff we need to do to be successful,'' McElwain said. "Nothing definitive there. He'll be prepared to play."
"He's obviously a step ahead of where he was last week."
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said the Tigers are preparing as if both Del Rio and Appleby will play.
"They are very similar. Austin is a little bit taller, but I know Coach McElwain will run his offense. The running game is the same. There's a couple of different passing styles, there's a couple of different protections,'' Orgeron said. "They like to move one guy a little bit more than the other. But what we've done, we've broken down both quarterbacks and we have a game plan for each quarterback."
As for the Tigers, they have their own injury concerns.
Orgeron said Fournette likely won't play and that his team could be without three other offensive starters: Fournette, left guard Will Clapp, and possibly tight end Foster Moreau.
"It doesn't look like Leonard is going to play; we don't know yet," Orgeron said. "He hasn't practiced yet. I do believe Will's going to be out for the next couple of weeks, and that Foster Moreau will be out this week, but I'm not sure."
Fournette has missed two of LSU's first five games, including last week's 42-7 romp over Missouri. He has rushed for 386 yards and two TDs on 67 carries. Derrius Guice is now the team's leading rusher with 402 yards and four TDs on 46 carries.
Asked his thoughts on Guice after watching film of the Missouri game, McElwain offered only one word.
"Wow,'' he said.
With so many questions surrounding the game, McElwain took a moment to reflect as he took questions from reporters after practice.
"This is something that could be devastating. It's already been devastating in other countries,'' he said. "There's things out there we can't control. We've got a lot of guys from areas that could get hit. My initial thought is with them. Believe it or not -- and I know some people will disagree with this -- there are some pretty important things out there in life that don't concern third-and-6."
Will quarterback Luke Del Rio return for the Gators? Will star running back Leonard Fournette play for the Tigers?
Oh, and will the game be played at all with Hurricane Matthew churning off the coast of the Sunshine State and causing havoc for weekend plans?
First, the game.
Florida officials continue to monitor Hurricane Matthew's status closely and as of Wednesday night, the game remains on. While UF has cancelled classes on Friday in preparation for Matthew's impact on the region, a final decision about the game is expected before 1 p.m. Thursday.
"Obviously, well aware of what could happen and the preparation for that,'' Gators coach Jim McElwain said Wednesday. "We'll figure it out when that happens. As always, our concerns are obviously with the people that are going to be affected by whatever comes our way.
"Right now, we're planning to go ahead with whatever the plans were. Whatever it is, you just adjust and get ready to go. Same for them."
LSU President F. King Alexander told the Baton Rouge Advocate on Wednesday that the Tigers still plan to travel to Florida but will land in Tampa instead of Ocala.
Meanwhile, Del Rio has picked up his pace at practice after missing the past two games with a left knee injury. Austin Appleby has started the past two games and continues to split time with Del Rio, who started the first three games.
"[Luke's] been pretty good,'' McElwain said. "Right now we're still splitting them, a little more with Austin."
McElwain said Del Rio is dealing with soreness and stiffness in the knee and is being evaluated closely. McElwain was pleased at Del Rio's progress after Wednesday's practice.
Del Rio was injured in the win over North Texas when he was hit low. He has worn a knee brace since returning to practice last week.
"He got back on the horse today and I thought looked pretty good moving, side-stepping and doing some things moving in the pocket and stuff we need to do to be successful,'' McElwain said. "Nothing definitive there. He'll be prepared to play."
"He's obviously a step ahead of where he was last week."
LSU coach Ed Orgeron said the Tigers are preparing as if both Del Rio and Appleby will play.
"They are very similar. Austin is a little bit taller, but I know Coach McElwain will run his offense. The running game is the same. There's a couple of different passing styles, there's a couple of different protections,'' Orgeron said. "They like to move one guy a little bit more than the other. But what we've done, we've broken down both quarterbacks and we have a game plan for each quarterback."
As for the Tigers, they have their own injury concerns.
Orgeron said Fournette likely won't play and that his team could be without three other offensive starters: Fournette, left guard Will Clapp, and possibly tight end Foster Moreau.
"It doesn't look like Leonard is going to play; we don't know yet," Orgeron said. "He hasn't practiced yet. I do believe Will's going to be out for the next couple of weeks, and that Foster Moreau will be out this week, but I'm not sure."
Fournette has missed two of LSU's first five games, including last week's 42-7 romp over Missouri. He has rushed for 386 yards and two TDs on 67 carries. Derrius Guice is now the team's leading rusher with 402 yards and four TDs on 46 carries.
Asked his thoughts on Guice after watching film of the Missouri game, McElwain offered only one word.
"Wow,'' he said.
With so many questions surrounding the game, McElwain took a moment to reflect as he took questions from reporters after practice.
"This is something that could be devastating. It's already been devastating in other countries,'' he said. "There's things out there we can't control. We've got a lot of guys from areas that could get hit. My initial thought is with them. Believe it or not -- and I know some people will disagree with this -- there are some pretty important things out there in life that don't concern third-and-6."
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