Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall in Florida in the coming days, and it could throw off several college football games this weekend.
Milton formed in recent days over the Gulf of Mexico, and it is expected to hit land Wednesday night or early Thursday. The storm, which has reached Category 5 status, will be a “large and powerful hurricane” when it reaches Florida, the National Hurricane Center said on Monday. By Monday afternoon, peak winds of the storm were up to 175 mph — which is up 85 mph from just 12 hours before, according to The Washington Post. It is currently the strongest Gulf of Mexico hurricane this late in the season since at least 1966, per the report, and the strongest in general since Hurricane Rita in 2005.
The storm has already prompted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to leave early for New Orleans ahead of their matchup with the Saints this weekend. The team will leave on Tuesday.
Florida is set to take on No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday and will likely have to make a similar travel decision soon, too. Both Florida State and No. 6 Miami have a bye week this weekend.
Other Florida schools, however, could see their home games this weekend impacted.
Memphis at South Florida
Moved to Saturday, Oct. 12 | Tampa, Florida
Friday’s game has been tentatively pushed to Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Bulls were set to host the Tigers in prime time, but with the hurricane set to make landfall in the greater Tampa area, it has been pushed back a day. The AAC said in a statement that “the conference and teams will assess the conditions and overall situation after the storm has passed to determine if further adjustments are necessary.”
Cincinnati at UCF
Saturday, Oct. 12 | Orlando, Florida
While the storm is currently projected to travel over the Orlando area, it should have weakened significantly by that point. And, with this game a day later than the Memphis-South Florida matchup, it’s more likely that the contest will be played as scheduled so long as the damage in the area isn’t too outstanding.
North Texas at FAU
Saturday, Oct. 12 | Boca Raton, Florida
This game, which will be played just north of Fort Lauderdale, should be fine based on the current projections. The storm will be well out over the Atlantic by Saturday afternoon, and it is slated to cross Florida well north of the Miami region.
