Although Hurricane Melton swept through the Sunshine State, Central Florida’s matchup versus Cincinnati will go on as scheduled.
The Big 12 Conference announced on Thursday night that the Bearcats and Knights will play their scheduled conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. This despite the effects Milton had on the area.
“After thoroughly evaluating the impact of Hurricane Milton in central Florida and discussions with both Cincinnati and UCF, the Big 12 Conference football game between the two schools will be played as scheduled at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 12 at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando on ESPN2,” the announcement read.
Hurricane Milton may not have impacted the area around UCF as much, but Tampa meanwhile was greatly affected. Tropicana Field, the home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays and the St. Petersburg Bowl, had its roof torn off due to the intensity of the hurricane. It seems Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and South Florida, sustained minimal damage.
If all is safe and well, playing the game should present no issues. So we’ll see how these teams come out amid unfortunate circumstances. Thus far, only travel arrangements have been significantly impacted for sports teams by Hurricane Milton in and around the Sunshine State, as few postponements or reschedulings have occurred.