Florida State expects supportive crowd, regardless of size following Hurricane Ian's fury on state

Thankfully, the Big Bend and Panhandle were spared the fury of Hurricane Ian.

It also appears the weekend forecast Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson made two days ago for Tallahassee is accurate — though his best guess for game attendance remains an uncertainty.

"Who knows, maybe this thing (Hurricane Ian) will take a turn and it will head somewhere else and it will be 80 and sunny (in Tallahassee) the next four days," Clawson said Tuesday during his weekly press conference.

A sunny afternoon with zero chance of rain and temperatures in the mid-80s are expected for the ACC showdown between No. 22 Florida State (4-0, 2-0 ACC) and Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1) at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Kickoff remains at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

Clawson voiced his concerns during his news conference about playing the game as Ian approached southwest Florida, saying, "We want to play. Absolutely want to play. But only if it’s safe and appropriate."

The Category 4 storm made landfall just west of Fort Myers Wednesday at 3:05 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. It marched towards Central Florida Wednesday and North Florida Thursday, packing destructive winds, rain and threatening heavy damage further inland.

The governors of Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina also have all preemptively declared states of emergency. Forecasters predicted Ian will turn toward those states as a tropical storm.

Wake Forest is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, nearly 80 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Charlotte can expect heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ian Friday, hours before the center of the storm is forecast to cross near the city, a National Weather Service meteorologist told the Charlotte Observer Thursday morning.

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Expressing compassion and empathy

While it's difficult to predict the attendance for the FSU-Wake Forest game, FSU Director of Athletics Michael Alford expressed compassion and empathy for those impacted by the storm.

"Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with all those in South Florida who have been affected by the hurricane and are going through very difficult times. We are hopeful this (Saturday's game) provides some relief," Alford said.

"We know our fans always come energized – we have the most loyal fans in the country."

FSU has sold 66,000 tickets for the game, while students have claimed nearly all of their allotment of 16,000.

The Seminoles beat visiting Boston College 44-14 last Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 79,560. It was the program's first sellout in seven years.

FSU was expecting another large crowd before Hurricane Ian entered the conversation.

As the dangerous storm's path towards Florida kept forecasters guessing, Florida State University Monday canceled classes for the remainder of the week and its homecoming festivities surrounding Saturday's game.

Live updates: Hurricane Ian one of strongest storms in U.S. history; 2M in Florida without power; 911 callers stranded in homes

'Like playing in big stadiums'

Prior to knowing the storm's determined path, Clawson also wondered about the game's attendance due to the storm's potential impact in Tallahassee and Florida.

He said it could be "packed" or comparable to — the Seminole Nation might cringe — a Vanderbilt home crowd (23,458 average in 2021). Many FSU season-ticket holders and fans travel to home games from throughout the state.

"Given Florida State canceled classes and canceled their homecoming, I don’t know if it’s going to be packed," Clawson said.

"There can end up being, who knows, there could be fewer people than Vanderbilt. I think we were preparing for that. I would be very surprised. I mean I have friends down there who wanted tickets and said, ‘No thanks, we’re good now.' "

Clawson, in his ninth season at Wake Forest, will be making his fourth trip to Doak Campbell Stadium. While he has led the Demon Deacs to consecutive wins over the Seminoles, the Deacs last won at FSU in 2008.

"Again, when that place is rocking and they were sold out for BC, they get the horse (Renegade) and throw the thing (spear) and it explodes (fireworks). It’s quite a scene, it really is," Clawson said and smiled.

"Our players enjoy that environment, they really do. They like playing in big stadiums and having big crowds. Whether we get that or not right now, who knows? I would be surprised, but maybe we will."

Wake Forest is coming off a 51-45 double-overtime loss to visiting Clemson last Saturday before a Truist Field crowd of 32,903. Quarterback Sam Hartman’s six touchdown passes broke the program record and tied the ACC record.

More: Tallahassee hotels juggle two home football games, cancellations, Hurricane Ian evacuees

Reach Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hurricane Ian spares Big Bend, but could impact FSU-Wake Forest crowd