Today’s news and notes is a touch late because I was doing my personal Hurricane prep yesterday. I’m sure you can understand that delay. Anyway, here we go.

South Florida braces for Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Shutters are up. Businesses are closed. With Hurricane Matthew — a major Category 4 storm — approaching South Florida, there’s nothing left for us to do but wait. Here’s a couple models and projected tracks so those of you not native to/living in South Florida understand what we’re up against.

Hopefully the outer bands of the storm aren’t too bad, and the damage left in its wake is minimal. But there will probably be some impact.

There’s more on top of that, but you get the idea. This is a serious, major Hurricane.

Be safe, everyone.

Miami Hurricanes vs Florida State Seminoles Game still planned to be played as scheduled

Per statement by the Miami Hurricanes athletic department, there is no plan to postpone or move the upcoming rivalry game against FSU.

From the release:

“We are monitoring Hurricane Matthew, and are in constant contact with stadium personnel,” Athletic Director Blake James said. “We are hopeful that the impact of Hurricane Matthew will be minimal and the game between the Hurricanes and Seminoles will be played as planned.”

Obviously, should the situation necessitate, there is a chance that the game could be moved from Hard Rock Stadium. To that end, the Tampa Bay Times has reported that the Miami-FSU game could be moved to Raymond James Stadium if the need arises.

The game could be played at 8pm, or even on Monday, as the Buccaneers are on the road that day. Per the report, a decision on this contingency is expected to be made sometime on Thursday.

Obviously, this is a contingency that the University of Miami hopes not to use. But, plans needed to be made just in case Hurricane Matthew’s impact is significant to South Florida.

We’ll see what happens, but hopefully the game will remain at Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida.

ACC elects to keep 8 game conference schedule

There had been debate about whether the ACC would follow the model of other conferences and move to a 9 game conference schedule. The resolution, however, is that the ACC will keep its current 8 game conference schedule.

This move has both proponents and detractors. This happened yesterday as I was in the middle of shuttering my mother’s house, so I didn’t get to read up on it too much. We’ll have more on this in the future.

Mark Richt calls out Tomahawk Nation Writer

So, CMR had some comments about Dalvin Cook, which were taken and twisted by a Tomahawk Nation writer. The piece intimates that Mark Richt openly disparaged Dalvin Cook and his abilities. I won’t link the piece because I don’t think it’s worth your time to read (it’s still on their site and you can find it if you like), but here’s what CMR had to say about it:

Here’s the full video of CMR’s comments about Dalvin Cook, shot by Peter Ariz of CanesInSight.com

Yeah. REAL disparaging stuff there. He said Dalvin Cook was “very difficult to take down” and “good at finding” space, and “an impressive guy”.

I can’t believe Mark Richt, saying all those terrible things about Dalvin Cook. He’s such a jerk, that guy.

#letsbejerks

Quick hitters

More for you to read before or during Hurricane Matthew:

My buddy Roman has this guest blog about the changing fortunes of Miami and FSU heading into this week’s game.

Pro Football Focus ranks LB Mike Pinckney as the 10th best True Freshman in CFB.

Jerry wonders if Saturday’s FSU game will be Brad Kaaya’s shining moment

Blain Bradley asks what does the FSU game mean to “U”?

David Perez writes that Miami is looking to prove that Dalvin Cook isn’t the only dominant back in Florida.

Bud Elliott at Tomahawk Nation thinks Miami will use Stacy Coley in the slot a lot on Saturday

I agree, and here’s why:

David Teel of the Daily Press had this take on the ACC’s move to maintain the 8 game conference schedule.

Former Cane Shawn O’Dare is a first-year sports agent, and has a blog about his experiences. Cool stuff and worth a read.

Jerry joined Chris Dobbertean of Blogging the Bracket to break down Miami’s non-conference basketball schedule.

Here’s another infographic heading into Saturday’s Miami-FSU rivalry game.

Just a reminder about our FSU week StoryStream

And, lastly, yesterday’s News and Notes, in case you missed it.

That’s it for today.

Stay safe, everyone.