The Gators will have to wait another week to play football in the Swamp.
Due to the looming threat of Hurricane Irma, Florida has completely canceled its home opener against Northern Colorado. The storm is expected to shift west from its initial path and could potentially inflict damage to the entire state rather than just the Atlantic coast as once thought.
The game was initially moved up to noon before the projected path shift, but will never be made up and stripped from both teams’ schedules.
“We have been in constant communication this week with University and government officials,” AD Scott Stricklin said in a press release. “As the Hurricane’s track has approached the state of Florida, it’s become obvious that playing a football game is not the right thing to do. The focus of our state and region needs to be on evacuations and relief efforts. There is a tremendous amount of stress currently on the roads of this state, and the availability of gas, water and other supplies are at critical levels. Playing a college football game Saturday would only add to that stress. Gainesville is also close to some of Florida’s heaviest traffic points this week, specifically Interstate 75, which is a key statewide evacuation route.”
This is the third time in the last four years Florida has lost the opportunity to host a game. The 2014 season opener against Idaho was canceled due to lightning in the area and Florida ultimately didn’t get to play Presbyterian last year due to Hurricane Matthew, which caused a postponement of its game against LSU.