Hurricane Milton: Big 12 announces Cincinnati vs. UCF will be played as scheduled

The Big 12 announced on Thursday that Cincinnati and UCF will play their game on Saturday in Orlando as originally scheduled despite Hurricane Milton’s surge across Florida.

The conference released a statement confirming the matter.

“After thoroughly evaluating the impact of Hurricane Milton in central Florida and discussions with both Cincinnati and UCF, the Big 12 Conference football game between the two schools will be played as scheduled at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 12 at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando on ESPN2,” it read.

The announcement comes after Memphis and USF’s game set to be played inside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium was relocated to Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. That game, just like Cincinnati vs. UCF, will be held as originally scheduled.

According to a report from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, site surveys are still being conducted but the Raymond James Stadium itself and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility “seem to have sustained only cosmetic damage.”

Tropicana Field, for example, suffered devastating roof damage from Hurricane Milton. The fabric covering was shredded, exposing the field below to the elements.

For these two games, it appears that Orlando will be safe to play football on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff between the Bearcats and Knights is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.

More on Hurricane Milton’s effect on football in Florida

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm Wednesday night, according to the AP, after getting as strong as Category 5 over the Gulf of Mexico. A Category 3 Hurricane has wind speeds between 111 and 129 miles per hour, but surge levels could go as high as 8-12 feet, according to The Weather Channel.

Evacuations were underway throughout the week as residents made preparations for the major storm to hit Florida’s west coast and make its way across the state. It was also making an impact on the sports world as teams in Florida drew up contingency plans.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were forced to evacuate ahead of this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints and left Tuesday after changing travel plans. They relocated all team operations to New Orleans as Hurricane Milton made its way toward Tampa and Florida’s west coast.

“In advance of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall, the Buccaneers will depart Tampa on Tuesday morning,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers Communications posted on Twitter. “The team will relocate operations to the New Orleans area for the remainder of the week leading up to Sunday’s game at the Saints. Media availabilities will be conducted virtually beginning on Wednesday.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this report.