Hurricane Irma has impacted the Miami Hurricanes more than anyone else. Miami has had one game canceled and two others have had the dates of the games pushed back.
The impending wrath of Irma forced the Hurricanes to cancel their game this week against Arkansas State. Now the ACC havs moved their September 16 game against Florida State to October 7 and their October 12 game against Georgia Tech to October 14.
The cancellation against Arkansas State caused some controversy amongst the Red Wolves fan base plus some in the media. ESPN’s Brett McMurphy and ESPNU Radio’s Rick Neuheisel were both critical of the Hurricanes decision not to play at Arkansas State.
It would be interesting to hear their take with the shuffling of the other games. The moving of the Florida State and Georgia Tech games, plus the cancellation of at least four other games this past weekend should take away a lot of the criticism of the Miami Hurricanes.
Miami will now play Florida State coming off a game against Duke, instead of Arkansas State. The Georgia Tech game will happen the week after Florida State.
The Hurricanes have often struggled with what has been referred to as a Florida State hangover. They traditionally do not play well the week following games against the Seminoles.
BREAKING: The @FSUFootball vs. @CanesFootball game has been rescheduled for October 7th. pic.twitter.com/u5nu4mnifV
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) September 10, 2017
Instead of playing Toledo from the MAC the week following Florida State, Georgia Tech is likely a tougher match-up. The advantage of the re-schedule of the game against the Seminoles is that Miami now has eight days in the week before they play FSU instead of seven. In both cases, Miami has had road games scheduled the week before Florida State.
The Hurricanes will also now face the tough task of playing 11 straight weeks without a bye this season. The season previously broke down with five games in September, followed by a bye week and then seven straight games to end the season.
The question is when Miami will get back on campus and be able to start preparing for Toledo on September 23? Will the Hurricanes only have enough time to implement a game plan against the Rockets and only work on that? Can they get back soon enough to be able to use the time to also teach the younger players and work with them on their games? Only Irma will dictate that!
Florida State will be the only team Miami plays this season that has been affected by Hurricane Irma. The game being moved likely helps the Seminoles more than Miami. FSU backup quarterback James Blackman will have two games to settle into the position before facing Miami’s stout front seven.
If the FSU-Miami game had stayed on the 16th, Blackman would have been making the first start of his collegiate career against the Hurricanes. He is replacing Deondre Francois who is out for the season with a tear of the patella tendon in his left knee.
Blackman replaced Francois with two minutes left in the game. With the Seminoles down 24-7, he did not attempt a pass or carry the ball. The Freshman will be tested in his next game, September 23 against North Carolina State. The Wolfpack has one of the best defensive lines in the ACC. They follow that up with a trip to Wake Forest.
Miami’s starting quarterback Malik Rosier will also get a pair of games to settle into his role as the permanent starting quarterback for Miami. He will make his third career start against Toledo on September 23. Miami and Rosier will then return to Durham, North Carolina where he made his first career start in 2015.
Florida State will also have to play 11 straight games. They were also scheduled to have their bye week October 7. It made moving the games around much easier for the ACC. It also makes the season a grind for the Seminoles and Hurricanes.
The game against Georgia Tech is going to much more tricky now. Preparing for the Yellow Jackets triple option is never easy. Miami Head Coach Mark Richt and Defensive Coordinator Manny Diaz had to be happy with having the bye week to prepare. They will now have seven days to prepare for the triple option instead of 12.
The impact that Hurricane Irma is having on the Miami Hurricanes season is minimal compared to the destruction it is likely to cause. Miami has 69 players on their roster from the state of Florida. Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties are represented by 43 players.
Next: Miami Hurricanes Cancellation vs ArkSt Puts Life in Perspective
Preparing for a football game is going to be secondary to getting back into a daily routine after many, if not most of the players evacuated from South Florida. There is no telling what these players will return to. Some will be tasked with helping their own families settling back into a normal life.