Corey Clark

Tallahassee Democrat

As Hurricane Irma gets set to batter the state of Florida, causing unknown amounts of damage, all signs point to the upcoming Florida State-Miami game being postponed to early October.

Florida State announced on Saturday afternoon that the campus will be closed through Friday, Sept. 15. An official announcement for the football game scheduled for Sept. 16 is expected to come as early as Sunday.

Instead of playing this Saturday the Seminoles and Hurricanes would meet on Oct. 7, which both teams share as an open date.

Miami decided to cancel its trip to Arkansas State this week because of Irma and hasn't practiced since Tuesday. Many players and coaches evacuated the area and there's no way of knowing when they'll be able to return.

Meanwhile, Florida State practiced all week - including Saturday - despite the game against Louisiana-Monroe being cancelled late Thursday night.

So just from a competitive standpoint, one team getting that much more practice and prep time for a game wasn't an ideal scenario in the eyes of the Atlantic Coast Conference. But even more importantly, the logistics involved in putting on a game - from staffing to hotel accommodations to travel - were thought to be too difficult with the entire state still reeling from the massive storm. Plus, there's no way to predict how much damage Tallahassee and the surrounding areas will suffer when Irma passes through.

Sincne both team share the same open date it wouldn't be that difficult a decision for the conference and the two universities to make.

"Throughout the state of Florida and the needs that are there, these kinds of events put in perspective where football lies," ACC commissioner John Swofford told ESPN earlier this week. "As important as football is to all of us, it really pales in comparison when you're talking about life-threatening events and the ramifications of something like this hurricane.

"Ultimately, while we want to try and play the games, we do not want to do so at the expense of the best interest of our citizens, our fans, our players and our students. With football, it's not easy to reschedule games. We all know that. If the need arises, we'll do the best we possibly can to do that, and in as fair a way as it can be done."

If the game against the Hurricanes is indeed postponed as expected, the Seminoles won't see the field again until Sept. 23 at home against North Carolina State. That would mean a three-week layoff for Jimbo Fisher's team since the 24-7 loss to No. 1 Alabama in the season-opener.

It's also the second time since the turn of the century that a Florida State-Miami game has been moved due to a hurricane. In 2004, the showdown was scheduled for Labor Day night, but Hurricane Frances delayed it until the following Friday. Miami won 16-10 in overtime.