UCF’s football game
at North Carolina is canceled as Hurricane Florence barrels toward the East Coast.
The UCF football team is adjusting to another unexpected early season bye thanks to a hurricane.
Last year, the Knights bonded after the cancellation of one game and postponement of another due to hurricanes. The extra time together spent volunteering to help those impacted by the storm and practicing helped UCF go on to post a 13-0 record.
UCF is hoping for a comparable bump in team unity after the Knights learned Tuesday their game at North Carolina was canceled due to Hurricane Florence.
The game was originally scheduled to kick off at noon Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday and air on ESPN.
School officials said they planned to discuss potentially rescheduling the game, but the Knights and Tar Heels do not share a bye week and it would be difficult for them to face off later in the year without adversely impacting both teams.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with everyone who may be affected by this storm,” UCF athletics director Danny White said in a statement released Tuesday. “The priority must be safety for everyone in the path of the hurricane. Having been through similar situations the past two years, we certainly understand this decision. We wish UNC the best of luck through this storm and for the rest of the year.”
All tickets purchased by UCF and UNC fans will automatically be refunded and fans do not need to contact the schools’ ticket offices.
The Knights will now have extra time to prepare for next Friday’s home game against FAU, a highly anticipated matchup against outspoken coach Lane Kiffin and his Owls team projected to repeat as Conference USA champions.
“I’m confident our student-athletes will adjust to this change,” UCF coach Josh Heuepel said. “Many of them have, unfortunately, been through similar scenarios here the last two seasons. Our concern is with the safety of everyone being affected by the storm. Our team will turn its focus toward the game with FAU and we look forward to seeing all of Knight Nation back out at Spectrum Stadium next Friday.”
On Monday night, UNC officials canceled classes for the remainder of the week to allow students to evacuate. However, the school
didn’t announce updates about the football game until early Tuesday afternoon.
Hurricane Florence is scheduled to make landfall on the coast of the Carolinas Thursday as a category 4 storm. Due to weather patterns in the region, the large storm is projected to move slowly and dump extensive rain on South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Some forecasts have projected rainfall comparable to last year’s Hurricane Harvey that caused massive flooding in Houston and the surrounding area.
The decision to cancel the game rather than trying to quickly organize a matchup at UCF or a neutral site helps both programs.
The Knights (2-0) are riding the nation’s longest win streak at 15 games and have dodged a hit to their strength of schedule by avoiding playing the struggling Tar Heels (0-2).
Strength of schedule is used to help determine College Football Playoff rankings, which dictate spots in playoff semifinals and lucrative Access Bowls. UCF is expected to battle Mountain West power Boise State for the Group of 5 schools’ sole guaranteed Access Bowl bid a year after the Knights beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
A weak strength of schedule was a key argument used to explain why UCF was shut out of the playoff semifinals last season despite posting the only undefeated record in the country.
UNC, meanwhile, is coming off a brutal loss to East Carolina and avoided potentially dropping to 0-3 when matched up against the Knights, adding to the heat on Fedora. UCF opened the week as a 14.5-point favorite to beat the Tar Heels.
UCF could try to schedule another game during its bye week on Oct. 27, but the Knights are slated to play Temple on the following Thursday, Nov. 1. The extra game rather than a bye would limit UCF’s preparation for the contest against the Owls.
The Knights share a bye week with Nebraska, which is led by former coach Scott Frost and had its opener called off due to persistent thunderstorms. The Huskies, however, face surging Ohio State the next weekend and likely would prefer to face a weaker opponent or as much time as possible to prepare for the difficult matchup with the Buckeyes.
UCF also shares a bye week with Alabama, a team it has traded barbs with all offseason after the Knights argued they deserved to be viewed as national champions after posting the nation’s sole undefeated record and defeating Auburn in the Peach Bowl.
The Tide earned a College Football Playoff semifinal bid despite failing to advance to the SEC title game and went on to defeat Georgia in the playoff championship. Alabama players and fans were irked by UCF’s title pronouncements, arguing the Tide were the only true national champs.
Alabama coach Nick Saban has shown no interest in scheduling a game against the Knights to settle the championship debate on the field and is unlikely to surrender a bye week, regardless of how much entertainment value it would provide.