ORLANDO, Fla. – A tip of the helmet is due to many people at USF and in Orlando for making it possible that the Bulls and Memphis could take the field this weekend in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
What was scheduled to be a Friday night matchup at Raymond James Stadium was pushed back to Saturday 3:30. Common sense dictated that the game not be played in Tampa given first responders and the like obviously had, and will continue to have, critical issues to tend to.
The decision to move the game to Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Saturday afternoon was made easy when it was learned UCF would not have to move its game against Cincinnati due to potential damage to the Bounce House and the immediate area. After all, the Little Econlockhatchee River caused major havoc in the university community two years ago resulting in a rescheduled game against SMU.
“Because we wanted to get the game in, and there was no other date to reschedule, we wanted to play the game where it can be safely played by the participants,” said USF athletic director Michael Kelly, noting that there were discussions with FAU and FIU as well as the possibility of moving the game to Memphis. “We put all of our chips into (Camping World Stadium).”
In an effort to get out of Tampa and practice ahead of the storm, the Bulls (2-4/0-2 American) took off for Orlando on Tuesday. Players, coaches and staff spent the next few days checking in with loved one and friends. Saturday’s 21-3 loss to Memphis (5-1/1-1) put a lid on an emotionally demanding week.
“I don’t have the words to explain how this week has been,” said coach Alex Golesh, who mentioned some people within the program are dealing with a great amount of misfortune. “I won’t make any excuses for what today (on the field) looked like. Obviously, in every imaginable way our whole community is hurting, our whole western part of our state is hurting and I give our kids a lot of credit.”
READ: USF Bulls Blasted At Tulane; Byrum Brown Injured
Golesh asked two things of his team: play as hard as they can for 60 minutes and remain focused. Two big boxes, bigger than anyone could have possibly imagined heading into the week, were checked.
“It was a time for us to show our maturity as a team, be able to come together, stick together, lean on each other and put an arm around each other,” said senior linebacker Mac Harris.
They did just that.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Android Users: Download our free app to stay up-to-date on the latest news.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.