The Florida football team has their opening game coming up on Thursday on the road against Utah, and the team's travel plans have been altered with hope of avoiding hurricane Idalia, according to ESPN.

A team spokesperson said on Monday that the Florida football team will fly to Dallas on Tuesday, then will practice and spend the night there. After, they will travel to Salt Lake City on Wednesday, according to ESPN. The initial plan for Billy Napier's team was to fly from Gainesville to Utah on Wednesday. Napier spoke about the change in plans.

“If you're going to go west, that makes the most sense,” Billy Napier said, via ESPN. “Hotel was a big logisticall issue relative to where to go. … This could end up being a positive. We break the flight up. We get the players and the staff into Dallas, get a good night's rest, a little extra focus and then obviously get to spend some more time together. We see that being a positive.”

Hurricane Idalia is the first to hit Florida this hurricane season. It hit Cuba with heavy rain, and is expected to reach the Gulf coast of Florida on Wednesday according to ESPN.

Napier's Florida football team will be in for a tough test against the No. 14 Utah football team. They are taking extra steps to make sure they are safe on their way to the game, and as Napier said, it might help them out. Napier's team comes into the matchup unranked, but there are always high expectations for Florida. A win on the road would be a statement for Napier and the Florida football team, and could kickstart a surprising campaign.

It will be an intriguing matchup to watch on Thursday night, but hurricane Idalia will be taking up the attention of many in Florida.