The hurricane's death toll has reached 40
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The University of Colorado's football team, led by head coach Deion Sanders, will play the University of Central Florida Saturday in Orange County, Florida. Hurricane Helene has wreaked havoc in recent days across multiple states, including Florida, with a death toll near 40 and an expected $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.
Despite this destruction, Colorado's social media team posted on social media Friday a computer-designed graphic showing safety Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig standing on a Florida beach with water up to his knees.
The post said "24 hours," an apparent reference to the countdown to the game Saturday. The post was later deleted from Colorado's social media account. The image also had a sign in the background that said "Beware of Sharks," an apparent reference to Silmon-Craig's nickname, "Shark."
Colorado's football program deleted a post on X that portrayed safety Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig standing in knee-high water ahead of a game in Florida after Hurricane Helene. (Colorado Buffaloes Football on X)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Colorado football program for comment but had not received a response before the time of publication.
Flooding has been one of the biggest destructive forces of the hurricane, beginning along Florida’s coast well before Hurricane Helene made landfall, with rapidly rising waters reported as far south as Fort Myers on the state’s Gulf Coast. FOX Weather's Ian Oliver said the surge quickly flooded streets around St. Pete Beach Thursday evening, with high tide several hours away.
The hurricane made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region, after intensifying into a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph. The monster hurricane is unleashing a potentially "unsurvivable" 20-foot storm surge, catastrophic hurricane-force winds and flooding.
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Waves from the Gulf of Mexico crash on shore as Hurricane Helene churns offshore Sept. 26, 2024, in St. Pete Beach, Fla. (Getty Images)
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee issued a rare extreme wind warning for several counties in the Big Bend ahead of the approach of the eyewall.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is a significant risk of a life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula, as well as Florida’s Big Bend region because of Hurricane Helene’s massive size.
Due to the storm, Saturday's game between Colorado and UCF was moved inland to Orlando.
Colorado Buffaloes running back Micah Welch (29) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the second half against the Baylor Bears at Folsom Field. (Christopher Hanewinckel/Imagn Images)
Sanders spoke about the weather before the Baylor game, saying the team was preparing as if it was not going to rain. Sanders bickered with a reporter who asked about his plans for the rain.
"I’m one of those good weathermen ... 30% (chance of rain) is 70% (chance) it won’t. Let's do drills that say, ‘It won’t rain,'" Sanders said at a press conference this week.
The game will mark the first-ever meeting between Colorado and UCF. The Knights became a Division I program in 1996 and joined the Big 12 in 2023.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
