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Florida football returns to SEC play on Saturday at No. 9 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN).
Preparing for Vols will be a challenge enough for the Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC), but it will get trickier with another hurricane bearing down on the state.
Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to hit Florida’s west coast in the Tampa Bay area and pass through the central region of the state at Category 3-4 strength on Wednesday. The University of Florida has closed campus on Wednesday and Thursday, though UF could practice those days under certain guidelines.
“We have had several discussions yesterday and today,” Florida football coach Billy Napier said. “I think ultimately what we know is that we anticipate today and tomorrow being traditional and then we’re ready to adapt Wednesday, Thursday.”
“Look, I think one thing I’ve learned, I’ve lived in some places that deal with this type of weather consistently, is that you play it six, 12 hours at a time and I think you’re ready. You build out plans A, B, C. We did that yesterday.”
Napier also said travel plans for the game haven’t been altered yet. UF is scheduled to leave for Knoxville on Friday, after the storm passes.
Florida (3-2, 1-1 SEC) is coming off a 24-13 win over UCF in which its defensive showed signs of improvement. Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC), meanwhile, suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday, falling 19-14 at Arkansas.
Per BetMGM, Florida enters the matchup as a 15.5-point underdog against the Vols, who are led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava (1,048 yards passing, seven TDs, two interceptions) and tailback Dylan Sampson (589 yards rushing, 12 TDs).
Since its 1-2 start, Florida has posted back-to-back wins over Mississippi State and UCF.
“We played well, but we have to do this consistently,”…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-football-monitors-hurricane-milton-203630869.html
Author : The Gainesville Sun
Publish date : 2024-10-07 20:36:30
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