Hurricane Idalia forces Florida Gators to change travel plans in bid to avoid storm ahead of ‘Urban Meyer Bowl’ against No. 14 Utah
- Urban Meyer coached some of the best seasons in Utah and Florida history
- The Gators would leave on Wednesday before switching to Tuesday
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The Florida Gators football team is changing travel plans for the opening game of the season against the No. 14 Utah Utes in hopes of avoiding Hurricane Idalia.
Gators head coach Billy Napier said the team will practice at home in Gainesville on Tuesday before flying to Dallas and spending the night in Texas. They then travel to Utah on Wednesday.
The original plan was to fly direct from Gainesville to Salt Lake City on Wednesday before opting for the layover in Dallas.
“Going west makes the most sense,” Napier said. ‘Hotel was a big logistical problem with regard to where to go…’
This could ultimately turn out positively. We split the flight. We get the players and staff to Dallas, get a good night’s sleep, a little extra focus and then of course spend some more time together. We see that as a positive.’
The Florida Gators have changed their travel plans for the game in Utah to avoid Hurricane Idalia
Head coach Billy Napier said the team will now travel to Dallas on Tuesday for a layover
Hurricane Idalia is expected to hit Florida between Tuesday and Wednesday
The game between Florida and Utah has been dubbed by some as the “Urban Meyer Bowl” because the legendary college coach spent time in charge at both schools.
Meyer spent the 2003–04 seasons in charge of the Utes, where he was named Mountain West Coach of the Year after recording a 10–2 record. That record earned him the best first-ever season in program history and the school’s first conference championship since 1957.
In 2004, Meyer led the team to an undefeated season and a bid into the Bowl Championship Series. It was the first team from a non-automatically qualifying BCS conference since the formation of the BCS in 1998.
Utah finished the season with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Pittsburgh and a 12–0 record, marking the first perfect season in team history.
Meyer then became head coach at Florida, where he won a slew of trophies while leading one of the most controversial yet successful programs in sports history.
The game is billed as the ‘Urban Meyer Bowl’ due to its history with both teams
Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to begin hitting Florida with hurricane-force winds as late as Tuesday, arriving on the state’s west coast on Wednesday.
It’s the first storm to hit Florida this hurricane season and a potentially major blow to the state, which also faces ongoing damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.
Idalia intensified on Monday, and forecasters predicted it would strike as a major hurricane within days with potentially life-threatening storm surges.
Idalia hit Cuba with heavy rains, especially on the westernmost part of the island, where the tobacco-producing province of Pinar del Rio is still recovering from Ian’s devastation.
As much as 10 inches of rain fell in Cuba on Sunday, meteorological stations reported.