Due to the potentially devastating Hurricane Irma, Florida’s season opener against Northern Colorado is being pushed up to noon on Saturday, according to multiple sources. The game is set to kick off on SEC Network+.
The news was first reported by Pat Dooley before sources confirmed it to me:
Everything I'm hearing is that Florida-Northern Colorado game will be at noon. Expect confirmation soon.
— Pat Dooley (@pat_dooley) September 6, 2017
Irma is projected by many to batter the Caribbean over the next couple of days before turning north by the weekend and heading up through Florida. Luckily, UF administration was prepared for the situation and made the call ahead of time. As they should be, given the frequency of tropical storms and hurricanes in the state. The Gators ultimately lost a home game last year against Presbyterian due to Hurricane Matthew and then another one when LSU forced them to play their scheduled game in Death Valley or lose SEC Championship Game eligibility.
This hurricane has already caused several scheduling rifts in the world of football. The Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers postponed their game until their mutual week eleven bye, UCF moved their game against Memphis to Friday night, and the Miami Hurricanes had to cancel their game against Arkansas State altogether.