NFL and college football games in Florida canceled ahead of Hurricane Irma
With Hurricane Irma expected to make landfall this weekend, football teams in Florida are debating whether to play, reschedule or cancel games scheduled to take place in the Sunshine State this weekend. Here's what local NFL and college football teams plan to do ahead of Irma.
MIAMI DOLPHINS/TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS — The two NFL teams were scheduled to play each other on Sunday in Miami — just hours after Hurricane Irma was expected to make landfall. The NFL has already announced that Sunday's game will not be played Sunday and will be rescheduled for Nov. 19, a week in which both teams were originally scheduled to have byes.Photo by: Mike Ehrmann
FLORIDA — The 22nd ranked Florida Gators are currently scheduled to host Northern Colorado on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. As of now, school officials are still hoping to play Saturday's game in Gainesville, Florida, though that could change as Irma's path becomes more clear.Photo by: Tom Pennington
FLORIDA STATE — The 10th ranked Seminoles are currently scheduled to take on Louisiana Monroe this Saturday at 7 p.m. Because the school is located on the state's panhandle in Tallahasee, the school is hoping to play the game at Flroida State as scheduled, though they may move up kickoff time to give ULM more time to safely evacuate following the game.Photo by: Marc Serota
MIAMI HURRICANES — The 16th ranked Hurricanes were scheduled to travel to take on Arkansas State on Saturday, but concerns about return travel have led to the cancellation of Saturday's game. The Associated Press reports that rescheduling the game in 2017 is not possible.Photo by: Mike Ehrmann
CENTRAL FLORIDA — The Orlando-based college football team was originally shceduled to take on Memphis at home at 8 p.m. on Saturday evening. For now, the teams will try and get the game in before the storm hits, and will play on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m.Photo by: Joel Auerbach
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY — The collehe, located in Miami, was scheduled to host Alcorn State on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. The school has already announced that it will not play the game in Miami this weekend, though it's unclear when and where the game will now be played.Photo by: Rob Foldy