Altered schedules

Coach Billy Napier (above) and the Florida Gators saw their game against Eastern Washington moved to Sunday as several games were moved Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Ian.

Three Sunshine State universities took steps Tuesday to salvage home football games as Hurricane Ian approached. Florida moved its game against Eastern Washington from Saturday to Sunday. Central Florida did the same with its game against SMU. South Florida relocated its Saturday game against East Carolina from Tampa, Florida, to Boca Raton. Although South Carolina is a safer distance from the major storm, the Gamecocks didn’t want to wait to make a decision regarding their game against South Carolina State. Those schools will now play Thursday night, two days earlier than previously scheduled and at least a day before Ian reaches the area. Stetson canceled its home game against San Diego scheduled for Saturday. No. 23 Florida State and 22nd-ranked Wake Forest, meanwhile, are “closely monitoring” the storm while expecting to play as planned in Tallahassee. The storm is expected to hit the state’s southwest coast today. It tore into western Cuba on Tuesday as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 storm before it hits Florida, where officials ordered 2.5 million people to evacuate before it crashes ashore Wednesday. The NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers relocated their football operations to the Miami area Tuesday in preparation for Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. So far, there has been no change for the game, which is scheduled for Sunday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.