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UPDATE: UCF has announced the game is officially canceled:
Due to Hurricane Florence, our game at UNC this weekend has been canceled.
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 11, 2018
UNC and UCF will continue to discuss the feasibility of playing the game at a later date this season. #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/8DfCNUw8Ne
UCF also stated that it is "unlikely" the game will be replaced on the schedule due to the Knights' bye week coming before a Thursday night game with Temple.
Speculation had been running rampant that, since Nebraska and UCF shared an open date that weekend, and Nebraska also had their opener against Akron wiped due to weather, that perhaps Scott Frost's Cornhuskers might be added to the schedule. UCF appears to have squashed that rumor:
It is unlikely the Knights will be able to replace the UNC contest with another game as the Knights don’t have a true open date.
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 11, 2018
Oct. 13 at Memphis
Oct. 20 at ECU
Nov. 1 vs. Temple (Thursday)
https://t.co/WHndUfzKIM
Tickets for the game will be automatically refunded:
DETAILS
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 11, 2018
North Carolina and UCF officials stated any tickets purchased through the respective school will be refunded automatically and as quickly as possible. There is no need to contact either school’s ticket office regarding refunds.
https://t.co/WHndUfzKIM
UPDATE - UNC Police has announced that classes are canceled at UNC Chapel Hill from 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Students are being advised to leave the Chapel Hill area in advance of Hurricane Florence by Wednesday:
!Alert Carolina!
— UNC Police (@UNCPolice) September 11, 2018
Adverse Weather: Important University updates for Hurricane Florence
Visit https://t.co/7frHnEMnAs
From the link in the tweet above:
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Guys, it's not looking good for Saturday's game between UCF and North Carolina. Hurricane Florence is headed straight for the Carolinas just in time for UCF's date with the Tar Heels.
The storm is expected to reach the Carolinas by Thursday, and then slowly stay over the area, lashing it with rain and wind for a few days. Here's the Monday 5 p.m. ET Advisory from the National Hurricane Center:
5pm EDT Update: Here are the key messages on Hurricane #Florence. The latest full forecast is available at https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/j80VAyrMUG
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2018
Eric Burris of WESH in Orlando is not adding any optimism as of Monday night:
Thought this might be interesting to see- what the 'euro' model is showing for top winds in North Carolina, given the current location.
— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) September 11, 2018
Of course a lot can change- but we're talking tropical storm winds to Charlotte and hurricane winds in Raleigh/Durham... pic.twitter.com/jouTrcDXI1
The forecast for the week puts eastern North Carolina squarely in the crosshairs of pretty bad winds, especially along the coast, but also just as dangerous, some heavy rain inland. Note that Chapel Hill is located in that red part there:
Hurricane #Florence is not just a threat to the coast. Very heavy, prolonged rainfall is expected over a large portion of the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic. Here is the latest 7 day rainfall forecast from @NWSWPC. pic.twitter.com/HVMCOMDQIr
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 10, 2018
Nothing about the game has been announced yet, but we expect that to change probably pretty soon. Kickoff is currently still scheduled for Saturday at noon on ESPNU.
Should the game be changed, moved, or canceled, this would mark the second time in as many years that a UCF game against an ACC opponent has been affected in some way by a hurricane.
Last year, UCF's game with Georgia Tech got wiped from the slate because of Hurricane Irma. That game has been re-scheduled for 2022. Irma also forced UCF's regular season meeting with Memphis back in the schedule, and the Knights picked up a game with Austin Peay to make up for the lost home date.
Again, no changes have yet been announced, but as you can expect, everyone is "closely monitoring the situation":
We’ll be monitoring Hurricane Florence this week.
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) September 10, 2018
More on the decision making process for athletic events
: https://t.co/5Hg6MTYv6n pic.twitter.com/nHevCYTfQ5
UCF's game is one of several in the Carolinas that either has been or will be affected in some way by the storm, assuming things continue as they look:
So far, Campbell-Coastal Carolina has moved up to Wednesday and had its location swapped.
— College Football by SB Nation (@SBNationCFB) September 11, 2018
Dozens of games could change as a result of Hurricane Florence. https://t.co/vpCuAynL4z
Follow the National Hurricane Center for the latest updates.