FSU football is in a wait and see mode when it comes to if the storm will hit the state of Florida just hours after their game with Boise State is to end.
For the last two seasons, the FSU football team has had to deal with damaged caused by hurricanes – no, not the ones from Miami but talking about Hurricane Irma in 2017 (which battered everything from the Florida Keys up the gulf coast) to the downright catastrophe from Hurricane Michael’s strike last October in the panhandle.
Well, it seems like the storm Gods are going to keep playing with the emotions of the Seminoles as – just in time for the season opener scheduled for this Saturday against Boise State – another storm could be coming onshore in the “Sunshine” State just hours after the Seminoles and Broncos finish playing.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm is still not yet hitting the areas of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic – but models having it just off the coast of Florida around early morning hours on Sunday, just about four hours after FSU football should be done playing their opener.
Just an update...The forecast track from 11am carries #Dorian NW with a close approach/possible impacts to Puerto Rico tomorrow, into the Bahamas through the weekend. Too soon to make any call on South Florida. Keep watching it. pic.twitter.com/k8ZucDOHEZ
— Ryan Phillips - NBC6 (@RyanNBC6) August 27, 2019
Now, as someone who is a lifelong resident of Florida, I will admit to being one of those people who waits until there is a certainty that it coming this way – trust me, we’ve all been in situations to prepare and at the last second it switches course – but the Seminoles need to be proactive and move kickoff time while there is plenty of time.
FSU athletics director David Coburn made the following statement to the Idaho Statesman:
"“We are monitoring weather projections for the potential storm, as are the officials in Jacksonville, at Boise State, and at ESPN and the ACC. It is too soon to make any decisions, but when they are made, the safety of the student-athletes and the fans attending the game will, as always, be the top priority.”"
When moving the time, there are two options: move the date of the game or move up the kickoff time – and when it comes down to it, the option at this point has to be moving up kickoff time of the game.
If FSU football wanted to move the date of the game and the storm stays on its current path, the only option would be moving it up to Friday – and that move wouldn’t work for the countless amounts of people who are heading up from places like Miami, Fort Myers, Tampa and those coming from Tallahassee as well as out of state.
Moving kickoff time from 7 p.m. to – just as an example – noon would be the right thing for two reasons. First off, it would have the game over by between 3 and 3:30 p.m., which would give those people near where the storm could strike (close to West Palm Beach) time to get back if they needed to before bad weather starts as well as letting the teams get back home safe.
Second, and this one is purely and selfishly about football, it would give the Seminoles a decisive advantage in what looks to be a hot forecast of of Tuesday – something that the Broncos can’t prepare for and the Noles live on a daily basis in the hot Tallahassee summers.
At this point, time is ticking for a decision to be made – and the Seminoles, after the last two seasons, need to make the right one for both their fans and their safety.