Hurricane Florence has forced the cancellation of North Carolina’s home opener versus Central Florida, a decision that had to be made and was handled swiftly by the UNC administration.
So now what?
THI takes a look at some of the pros and cons for UNC’s football team and program as a result of this cancellation:
Pros:
*The Team Needed A Break: Given how the first two games went, it’s good everyone in the program can get away for a couple of days, clear their heads and focus on something else. Last week was a very bad look, so getting some time away is good for everyone.
*Heel thyself: With no game is means Carolina will have an extra week for injured players such as Michael Carter, Aaron Crawford and others to heel and they won’t miss a game against a quality opponent. Also, this means UNC will play just two times in a 35-day span, so by the time Carolina hosts Virginia Tech on Oct. 13, it will be ready for the stretch run of games for eight straight weeks, rested and heeled.
*Suspensions Altered: It means UNC will play just 11 games this season, but since the punishment for the players that received four-game suspensions was based on 30 percent of the regular season schedule, that now means they must miss 3.3 games. But the NCAA rounds down to three games, meaning this one counts as time served for all nine players that received four-game suspensions.
Cons:
*Lost Reps: Lost reps are never a good thing, and with a lot of young players getting on the field each week for the Tar Heels, they will never get these lost reps back.
*Lost opportunity: UCF is ranked No. 18 in the nation and hasn’t lost since 2016, so this was a great opportunity for the Tar Heels to right the ship in a very big way. Home opener, newly renovated Kenan Stadium, a new lease on life and an opportunity to bind together to face a quality opponent could have led to a UNC win. That won’t happen now.
*Lost Gate: UNC football needs to pay a lot of bills, so losing this home game means Carolina will play just a five-game home schedule so it will lose a great deal of needed revenue.
*This Is A Dangerous Storm: Lets face it, football doesn’t really matter when a storm like this is approaching, so having to cancel the game means this sucker is dangerous and potentially much worse. Please be safe out there.
