With Hurricane Ian on track to target the west-central coast of Florida ahead of the weekend, UCF football coach Gus Malzahn said Monday his team is preparing as usual for Saturday’s home game vs. SMU.
“We’re just taking it day by day,” Malzahn told reporters. “We’re going about our business like we’re going to play the game and everything that goes with it. Day by day as we get more updates, we’ll be able to make the best decision.”
UCF announced Monday that classes are canceled Wednesday through Friday with campus closing for operations Wednesday and Thursday. Classes are expected to resume next Monday, the university said.
Despite classes being canceled, the Knights are still currently scheduled to host the Mustangs inside FBC Mortgage Stadium on Saturday, according to the university.
“UCF, in conjunction with the American Athletic Conference, is monitoring Hurricane Ian and its potential impact on the Orlando area,” UCF Athletics said in a statement. “Saturday’s game remains slated for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.”
One potentially challenging aspect is SMU traveling from Texas to Orlando.
“That’s a great question,” Malzahn said when asked when a decision would need to be made in regards to SMU’s travel plans. “As of right now, we’re expecting to play.”
Malzahn said UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir and the administration have been working the past couple of days on multiple plans depending on what happens to the track of the hurricane.
“They’ve been working on all of the ‘what ifs’,” Malzahn said. “From my standpoint, I addressed our team, ‘we’re moving forward like a normal week. Obviously, we’ll keep you updated. If things change on a daily basis, we’ll be able to adjust.’”
If the game is unable to be played, there’s a possible easy solution as to when the conference matchup could be made up. It just so happens that UCF and SMU share an off-week after this weekend.
An AAC spokesperson told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday afternoon that the conference has been monitoring the storm since late last week and continues to do so moving forward.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued tropical storm watches Monday for multiple Central Florida counties, including Orange where UCF is located. This means tropical storm conditions are possible within the next 48 hours.
UCF has had several games either postponed or canceled because of the hurricanes over the past five years, including the cancellation of games against North Carolina in 2018 and Georgia Tech in 2017.
In addition to Saturday’s football game, UCF will likely need to make a decision regarding a women’s soccer home match vs. Cincinnati scheduled for Thursday evening as well as a men’s soccer game vs. FAU on Friday night.
As for Malzahn’s program, the Knights are ready to open conference play this weekend against the Mustangs, until told otherwise.
“We’ve got to be looking like we’re going to play the game so that’s our mindset,” Malzahn said. “I know Terry and his staff is working behind the scenes really hard.”
