Stranded in Madison, Wisc.

FAU now awaits trip home after Hurricane Irma leaves Florida

MADISON, WIS. — The wait has begun for Florida Atlantic’s football team.

One day after their 31-14 loss to No. 9 Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon, the Owls will linger in Madison, Wis., as Hurricane Irma makes landfall in South Florida. Irma’s winds and rains have created uncertainty for FAU on when it’ll be able to return home to Boca Raton.

So Madison will become the football program’s second home as the team prepares for a scheduled game Saturday night at home against Bethune-Cookman. The team remained at the same hotel it stayed in before the game, and took its customary day off from practice on Sunday, according to a team spokesperson.

FAU coach Lane Kiffin said he wasn’t sure what the week ahead would hold for the Owls, and he would take cues from the administration. “Just do whatever they say,” Kiffin said. On Sunday, FAU announced that all campuses would be closed through Tuesday, including all classes.

The Badgers and athletic director Barry Alvarez have opened their doors to FAU, offering to shoulder hotel and food costs while also allowing the Owls to use oncampus practice, medical and strength facilities.

With Irma’s forecast expected to impact South Florida for days, FAU’s game against BethuneCookman could be in jeopardy. On Saturday night, the ACC announced the postponement of the MiamiFlorida State game that was to be held in Tallahassee.

“Obviously, we don’t know when we’ll be able to go back home,” FAU receiver DeAndre McNeal said. “Coach Kiffin told us to pack many pairs of extra clothes and we did. If we have to finish the rest of the week here, we’ll do so. We’ll be ready for the next team.”

After Saturday’s game, Kiffin said some players approached him during the week about not wanting to play the game, worried that no one would be able to care for their families. But the Owls committed to playing in Madison, and a last-minute switch would have put players and coaches in a perilous and unprepared situation, athletic director Pat Chun said.

Still, the Owls hung with Wisconsin after a slow start dug them into an immediate 14-0 hole. After the Badgers’ first two touchdowns, Wisconsin only outscored the Owls 17-14. Kiffin said Irma wasn’t on his mind much after kickoff.

“Once you started playing, it really wasn’t,” Kiffin said. “I’m sure it was for our players and stuff. I try to just focus on the game. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Added FAU quarterback Daniel Parr: “I’m proud of my guys, they fought, considering all the outside factors.”

FAU’s football team has been affected by a lot of weather in the last couple of years. In 2016, the threat of Hurricane Matthew forced the Owls to postpone a home game against Charlotte to a Sunday afternoon. Last week, FAU’s seasonopener against Navy was delayed by lightning three times and didn’t finish until nearly 2 a.m.

Now, it is stranded in Madison by Irma.

“We can’t focus on that because we don’t have control over it,” Parr said. “All we can do is get better every day.”

Parr is a Palm Beach County native, from Jupiter and Dwyer High School. So is safety Jalen Young, from Belle Glade and Seminole Ridge High School. Young said his grandparents evacuated to West Palm Beach to be with his parents. But Young’s mother remained on his mind Saturday afternoon.

“Before we left, I talked to my mom,” Young said. “She said she’s proud of me. From that moment, I’m just like ‘Make my mom proud. Make my mom proud.’ That’s what goes through my head every day. There’s no change. She wants me to do this, and this is what I’m going to do for her.”

Young led the Owls with 14 tackles during Saturday’s loss.

The game against Bethune-Cookman (located in Daytona Beach) would be a welcome respite from a grueling two-game stretch that opened with Navy’s tripleoption and continued with Wisconsin’s power-running game.

“It doesn’t matter what we do, we’ll be ready for Saturday,” McNeal said.