After Hurricane Irma, football to return

The Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play home games this week as Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Irma.

Amid the misery in Florida caused by Hurricane Irma, the state still has places to play.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were the latest to announce they will play at home this weekend.

Team president Mark Lamping and Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry delivered the news at a local fire station Tuesday, just hours after the team returned home following an extended stay in Houston because of Irma.

“It’s so important on so many different levels that we show the world that Jacksonville is open for business,” Lamping said.

The Jaguars spent three nights in Houston because of the hurricane.

Lamping said EverBank Field in Jacksonville passed its final NFL inspection Tuesday to gain clearance to host a game. Stadiums in Tampa Bay and Miami also were declared safe after structural engineers found no damage related to Irma.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Chicago Bears as scheduled Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. It will serve as the Bucs’ season opener.

“Hosting the game is important to us, as Tampa Bay has been through a lot over the past few days,” Buccaneers CEO Brian Ford said. The Bucs’ game last Sunday at Miami was postponed until Nov. 19 because of the storm.

In college football, No. 22 South Florida was to resume practice Tuesday and will play host to Illinois on Friday, also at Raymond James. USF athletic director Mark Harlan said the Bulls determined their game could be safely played as scheduled without hurting recovery efforts.

No. 23 Tennessee and 24th-ranked Florida will play as scheduled Saturday in Gainesville. Florida Field sustained only minor storm damage to signage.

Florida (0-1) canceled its home opener last week against Northern Colorado because of the hurricane.

Florida Atlantic targeted a Wednesday return to its campus in Boca Raton and hopes to play its scheduled home game Saturday against Bethune-Cookman.

Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens was determined to be safe for the Hurricanes, who are scheduled to play the next game there Sept. 23 vs. Toledo.

CHRIS O’MEARA — ASSOCIATED PRESS The Bears and Buccaneers take part in the coin toss before a game, in Tampa, Fla., in 2016. There will be football in Tampa this weekend, and the Buccaneers will finally get to start a season delayed by Hurricane Irma’s wrath. The Bucs announced that...