Hurricane Florence was upgraded to a Category 4 storm by the National Hurricane Center on Monday afternoon, and it is bearing down on the east coast of the United States. Updated models showed the eye of the storm to be East-Southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moving toward the South Carolina/North Carolina boarder at 13 miles per hour.

Recent models show the storm making landfall late Thursday night or early Friday morning anywhere from Charleston, South Carolina, to Norfolk, Virginia. When it does, meteorologists are predicting Florence to weaken and sit over the east coast of the United States for a significant period of time, which could create major flooding.

The severity of the storm and the time in which it is expected to make landfall will put the status of several FBS football games in doubt for Week 3 of the season.

It has already forced Coastal Carolina to move its game against Campbell up three days from Saturday to Wednesday. That game will kick at 2 p.m. ET at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek, North Carolina, with free admission for all.

Here’s a list of more games that could be affected:

Mandatory evacuation is already in place for Hatteras Island, North Carolina. A state of emergency has already been declared for South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Because of the danger that already exists, and potentially more evacuations to come, Duke’s road trip to Baylor could be another game impacted by the approaching storm. </s> CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The suspect has been charged with murder after two people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Tuesday, WSOC reports.

Law enforcement sources confirmed to FOX8 the suspect is 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell, a student of UNCC.

WSOC reports Terrell has been charged with two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a firearm on educational property and discharging a firearm on educational property.

The shooting happened at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, the last day of spring semester classes.

The university tweeted that shots were reported near the Kennedy Building.

Police have not released the names of the two people killed or the four people injured. Three of the people injured are in critical condition.

Authorities have not said what led up to the shooting.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are assisting university police in the case. The FBI is also on campus assisting in the investigation.

The lockdown at the university was lift as of about 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro baseball team was scheduled to play UNC Charlotte Tuesday.

The UNCG team tweeted following the shooting, "Everyone with the UNCG Baseball team is safe and sound. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, students and Charlotte community that were injured or lost their lives in this tragedy."

The game was canceled, but the school is now planning a vigil and moment of silence for 6 p.m. Wednesday evening in solidarity with the UNCC community. </s>  Arkansas will play Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 29 in Charlotte, N.C.

Belk Bowl executive director Will Webb told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette earlier this week that the Razorbacks were a strong candidate to play in the game.

"We're very much looking at Arkansas and we're very intrigued by the brand, the ratings they could bring and Arkansas' fan travel," Webb said Friday when asked about the Belk Bowl's interest in the Razorbacks.

The No. 22 Hokies (9-4) were the ACC runner-up this season after losing 42-35 to Clemson on Saturday in the ACC Championship Game. Virginia Tech won five of its final six games in the regular season.

Arkansas has never played Virginia Tech. Both teams are making their first appearance in the Belk Bowl.

The Razorbacks have never played a football game in the state of North Carolina. </s> GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Latest on the semifinal games in the Final Four: (all times local):

Two college basketball programs on opposite ends of the country and with much different histories will face off for the national championship on Monday.

North Carolina and Gonzaga pulled out hard-fought wins in the semifinals to set the stage for the title game. North Carolina has five national titles, and Gonzaga is making its first appearance in a championship game.

North Carolina opened as a two-point favorite over the Bulldogs, of Spokane, Washington.

North Carolina is one game away from its sixth college basketball national championship after surviving a late rally in the final seconds against Oregon.

Kennedy Meeks matched his career high with 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as North Carolina won 77-76.

Meeks’ final rebound was the most pivotal, coming after a missed free throw in the closing seconds.

North Carolina missed four straight free throws at the end of the game but got offensive rebounds in both cases to emerge victorious.

Dylan Ennis and Tyler Dorsey scored 21 and 18 points for the Ducks. Dillon Brooks had a rough night for Oregon, making 2 of 11 shots and committing five turnovers before fouling out.

North Carolina’s academic scandal was brought up on the CBS broadcast during the second half of the Tar Heels’ national semifinal against Oregon.

Jim Nantz suggested that recruiting has been tough for the Tar Heels because of the scandal, noting the team has an upperclassman-dominated roster. “They’ve had to live with all of this, all the swirling innuendo with what went on there with all the academic fraud allegations,” he said.

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham told The Associated Press earlier this week that it “would be inappropriate to try to estimate a timeline” as to when this saga might end. The NCAA’s ongoing probe of the Tar Heels is tied to irregularities in an academic department and led to five broad-based charges against the school that include lack of institutional control.

Current UNC players were years away from arriving in Chapel Hill when it began.

The Final Four brought the largest crowd to attend a sporting event at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Organizers say attendance was 77,612. That is dramatically more fans than the building typically holds for Arizona Cardinals football games. Average attendance for Cardinals games is about 64,000. The Cardinals have sold out every game since the building opened in 2006.

The stadium can hold thousands more seats for basketball in what marks the first time the Final Four has been in Arizona.

One half in, and North Carolina’s Joel Berry II is having a quiet night as he plays through two sprained ankles.

Berry hit an early 3-pointer but didn’t make another shot the rest of the half, finishing with five points on 1-for-4 shooting.

It’s unclear how much the injuries are affecting him, though some of that could be Oregon’s defense that had UNC off-balance for about 17 minutes before a late Tar Heels run.

North Carolina’s offense took a long time to get going but finally picked things up, and the Tar Heels lead Oregon 39-36 at halftime in the nightcap of Saturday’s Final Four semifinals.

Kennedy Meeks dominated play inside with 14 points and five rebounds for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina missed 17 of its first 20 shots but finished the half with a 17-6 run. Oregon had an eight-point lead at one point.

North Carolina appeared to lose its shooting touch somewhere between home and Arizona. Oregon had trouble holding onto the ball.

The start of the Tar Heels-Ducks national semifinal game was marred by offensive struggles by both teams.

North Carolina made only 5 of its first 20 shots and Oregon committed eight turnovers in the game’s first 11 minutes.

Theo Pinson briefly went out of the game, adding to North Carolina’s offensive woes.

The national semifinal contest between North Carolina and Oregon is underway, with the winner to face Gonzaga in the championship game.

North Carolina is looking to return to the title game after losing to Villanova on a last-second shot last year. North Carolina has won five national titles, most recently in 2009. Oregon’s only championship was in 1939.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs survived a furious second-half rally by South Carolina to advance to their first national championship game.

South Carolina reeled off 16 straight points to take a 67-65 lead with 7:06 to play. Zach Collins answered with a 3-pointer to put Gonzaga back on top and the Bulldogs held on from there.

Collins, a 7-foot freshman, had an impressive stat line: 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes of play.

Gonzaga advances to Monday night’s title game against the winner of Saturday night’s Oregon-North Carolina agame.

Nigel Williams-Goss scored 23 for the Bulldogs. P.J. Dozier had 17 points for the Gamecocks.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to the national title game.

Gonzaga weathered a furious second-half rally by South Carolina and held on to beat the Gamecocks 77-73 at the Final Four on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs, who have lost once in 38 games this season, play the winner of the Oregon-North Carolina game for the national championship Monday night.

South Carolina is displaying more of its patented second-half magic in the NCAA tournament.

Down by 14 to Gonzaga, the Gamecocks came roaring back to take the lead with 7:06 remaining. Their run reached 16-0 at that point before Gonzaga ended its scoreless drought.

The Gamecocks scored on six straight possessions. Meanwhile, Gonzaga, so smooth on offense most of the game, went over three minutes without a score.

South Carolina has trailed at half three times in the tournament, and the Gamecocks have outscored the opposition in the second half by 54 points.

The decision by Nigel Williams-Goss to leave Seattle is turning out to be a decisive addition for Gonzaga in its bid for the school’s first national title.

The guard from Happy Valley, Oregon, played his first two seasons for Lorenzo Romar at Washington but left after the 2014-15 season.

He heated up in the second half, pushing Gonzaga’s lead to 14 points with a 3-point play with about 10 minutes to play. He reached 23 points with the 3-point play. That despite turning his ankle a few minutes earlier.

Williams-Goss is averaging about 17 points a game this year.

South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell missed a day of practice this week after coming down with a fever and headache. And the SEC player of the year’s coach acknowledged he wasn’t at full strength in the first half against Gonzaga.

Frank Martin said the Gamecocks need to find a way to help out Thornwell. “He obviously doesn’t have a lot of energy and bounce in his game right now,” Martin said.

Complicating matters for the senior guard is the fact that the Zags guarded him with the 6-foot-9 Johnathan Williams. Long arms and a 4-inch height advantage have helped make things tough for Thornwell.

Thornwell had five points in the first half after averaging 25.8 points through the first four games of the tournament.

North Carolina will have starting point guard Joel Berry II for Saturday’s semifinal against Oregon.

Berry was included on the pregame list of starters. There had been some question about his status this week due to a pair of sprained ankles suffered during the NCAA Tournament, the second coming during the Elite Eight win against Kentucky. The junior had sounded confident about his chances in pregame interviews and pronounced himself “85 percent” on Friday.

The question now is whether — or how much — the injuries affect his play against the Ducks.

Gonzaga scored the final seven points of the first half to build a 45-36 lead over South Carolina in the Final Four.

The Bulldogs came close to going into halftime with a double-digit lead and on a 10-0 run, but Silas Melson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was waved off.

Nigel Williams-Goss had 12 points to lead Gonzaga, whose surge came without their massive center.

Przemek Karnowski — 7-foot-1 and 300 pounds — took a hand to the face and went down hard under the Gonzaga basket. He stayed down for several minutes before making to the bench and going to the locker room.

South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC player of the year, had just five points on 1-for-5 shooting.

Gonzaga suffered a setback late in the first half against South Carolina when big man Przemek Karnowski took a hand to the face and was taken to the locker room to be checked out.

Karnowski was led off the court by trainers after getting hit by South Carolina Chris Silva. He is expected to return.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin walked out on to the court to check on Karnowski. Martin bent over and said, “Are you all right?” An Gonzaga athletic trainer then attended to Karnowski.

The 7-foot-1 center from Poland had six points and four rebounds when he left.

Sindarius Thornwell has been red hot for South Carolina in the NCAA tournament. Not so much in the first half against Gonzaga.

The SEC player of the year was scoreless through the first 12 minutes of the game. And his backcourt mate Rakym Felder drew the wrath of South Carolina coach Frank Martin, who came onto the court midway through the first half to give a piece of his mind to the freshman guard.

Thornwell averaged 25.8 points through the first four games of the tournament.

South Carolina is taking a rare approach against Gonzaga by not double teaming Przemek Karnowski.

Previous teams in the NCAA Tournament have sent double teams at the Polish big man and he picked them apart with his deft passing. The Zags made 12 of 24 from 3-point in last week’s win over Xavier, many of those coming on kick-outs by Karnowski.

South Carolina has no one who can match the size of the 7-foot-1, 300-pound center, but the Gamecocks have held their ground so far.

The official who received death threats from Kentucky fans after the Elite Eight is the crew chief for the Final Four game between South Carolina and Gonzaga.

John Higgins worked last weekend’s game between North Carolina and Kentucky, which the Tar Heels won 75-73. Kentucky coach John Calipari began his post-game news conference talking about fouls and Kentucky fans began harassing Higgins, who runs a roofing company in Nebraska.

The Sarpy County Sheriff’s office in Nebraska said Higgins’ roofing company received about 3,000 harassing emails and an unknown number of phone calls, some including death threats. The Facebook page for Higgins’ company also was inundated with negative comments.

Gonzaga and South Carolina, both in their first Final Four, tipped off as fans poured in to cavernous University of Phoenix Stadium. Gonzaga brought an especially vocal fan contingent to cheer on the basketball-crazy school from Spokane, Washington.

The teams emerged from clouds of artificial smoke to take the court for final pre-game warmups.

The national anthem was performed by female athletes from each of the schools in the Final Four.

The game is being played in a retractable roof stadium, but the roof will be closed for the Final Four matchups.

For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 </s> (AP) – The Latest on the semifinal games in the Final Four: (all times local):

Two college basketball programs on opposite ends of the country and with much different histories will face off for the national championship on Monday.

North Carolina and Gonzaga pulled out hard-fought wins in the semifinals to set the stage for the title game. North Carolina has five national titles, and Gonzaga is making its first appearance in a championship game.

North Carolina opened as a two-point favorite over the Bulldogs, of Spokane, Washington.

North Carolina is one game away from its sixth college basketball national championship after surviving a late rally in the final seconds against Oregon.

Kennedy Meeks matched his career high with 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as North Carolina won 77-76.

Meeks’ final rebound was the most pivotal, coming after a missed free throw in the closing seconds.

North Carolina missed four straight free throws at the end of the game but got offensive rebounds in both cases to emerge victorious.

Dylan Ennis and Tyler Dorsey scored 21 and 18 points for the Ducks. Dillon Brooks had a rough night for Oregon, making 2 of 11 shots and committing five turnovers before fouling out.

North Carolina’s academic scandal was brought up on the CBS broadcast during the second half of the Tar Heels’ national semifinal against Oregon.

Jim Nantz suggested that recruiting has been tough for the Tar Heels because of the scandal, noting the team has an upperclassman-dominated roster. “They’ve had to live with all of this, all the swirling innuendo with what went on there with all the academic fraud allegations,” he said.

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham told The Associated Press earlier this week that it “would be inappropriate to try to estimate a timeline” as to when this saga might end. The NCAA’s ongoing probe of the Tar Heels is tied to irregularities in an academic department and led to five broad-based charges against the school that include lack of institutional control.

Current UNC players were years away from arriving in Chapel Hill when it began.

The Final Four brought the largest crowd to attend a sporting event at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Organizers say attendance was 77,612. That is dramatically more fans than the building typically holds for Arizona Cardinals football games. Average attendance for Cardinals games is about 64,000. The Cardinals have sold out every game since the building opened in 2006.

The stadium can hold thousands more seats for basketball in what marks the first time the Final Four has been in Arizona.

One half in, and North Carolina’s Joel Berry II is having a quiet night as he plays through two sprained ankles.

Berry hit an early 3-pointer but didn’t make another shot the rest of the half, finishing with five points on 1-for-4 shooting.

It’s unclear how much the injuries are affecting him, though some of that could be Oregon’s defense that had UNC off-balance for about 17 minutes before a late Tar Heels run.

North Carolina’s offense took a long time to get going but finally picked things up, and the Tar Heels lead Oregon 39-36 at halftime in the nightcap of Saturday’s Final Four semifinals.

Kennedy Meeks dominated play inside with 14 points and five rebounds for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina missed 17 of its first 20 shots but finished the half with a 17-6 run. Oregon had an eight-point lead at one point.

North Carolina appeared to lose its shooting touch somewhere between home and Arizona. Oregon had trouble holding onto the ball.

The start of the Tar Heels-Ducks national semifinal game was marred by offensive struggles by both teams.

North Carolina made only 5 of its first 20 shots and Oregon committed eight turnovers in the game’s first 11 minutes.

Theo Pinson briefly went out of the game, adding to North Carolina’s offensive woes.

The national semifinal contest between North Carolina and Oregon is underway, with the winner to face Gonzaga in the championship game.

North Carolina is looking to return to the title game after losing to Villanova on a last-second shot last year. North Carolina has won five national titles, most recently in 2009. Oregon’s only championship was in 1939.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs survived a furious second-half rally by South Carolina to advance to their first national championship game.

South Carolina reeled off 16 straight points to take a 67-65 lead with 7:06 to play. Zach Collins answered with a 3-pointer to put Gonzaga back on top and the Bulldogs held on from there.

Collins, a 7-foot freshman, had an impressive stat line: 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes of play.

Gonzaga advances to Monday night’s title game against the winner of Saturday night’s Oregon-North Carolina agame.

Nigel Williams-Goss scored 23 for the Bulldogs. P.J. Dozier had 17 points for the Gamecocks.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to the national title game.

Gonzaga weathered a furious second-half rally by South Carolina and held on to beat the Gamecocks 77-73 at the Final Four on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs, who have lost once in 38 games this season, play the winner of the Oregon-North Carolina game for the national championship Monday night.

South Carolina is displaying more of its patented second-half magic in the NCAA tournament.

Down by 14 to Gonzaga, the Gamecocks came roaring back to take the lead with 7:06 remaining. Their run reached 16-0 at that point before Gonzaga ended its scoreless drought.

The Gamecocks scored on six straight possessions. Meanwhile, Gonzaga, so smooth on offense most of the game, went over three minutes without a score.

South Carolina has trailed at half three times in the tournament, and the Gamecocks have outscored the opposition in the second half by 54 points.

The decision by Nigel Williams-Goss to leave Seattle is turning out to be a decisive addition for Gonzaga in its bid for the school’s first national title.

The guard from Happy Valley, Oregon, played his first two seasons for Lorenzo Romar at Washington but left after the 2014-15 season.

He heated up in the second half, pushing Gonzaga’s lead to 14 points with a 3-point play with about 10 minutes to play. He reached 23 points with the 3-point play. That despite turning his ankle a few minutes earlier.

Williams-Goss is averaging about 17 points a game this year.

South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell missed a day of practice this week after coming down with a fever and headache. And the SEC player of the year’s coach acknowledged he wasn’t at full strength in the first half against Gonzaga.

Frank Martin said the Gamecocks need to find a way to help out Thornwell. “He obviously doesn’t have a lot of energy and bounce in his game right now,” Martin said.

Complicating matters for the senior guard is the fact that the Zags guarded him with the 6-foot-9 Johnathan Williams. Long arms and a 4-inch height advantage have helped make things tough for Thornwell.

Thornwell had five points in the first half after averaging 25.8 points through the first four games of the tournament.

North Carolina will have starting point guard Joel Berry II for Saturday’s semifinal against Oregon.

Berry was included on the pregame list of starters. There had been some question about his status this week due to a pair of sprained ankles suffered during the NCAA Tournament, the second coming during the Elite Eight win against Kentucky. The junior had sounded confident about his chances in pregame interviews and pronounced himself “85 percent” on Friday.

The question now is whether – or how much – the injuries affect his play against the Ducks.

Gonzaga scored the final seven points of the first half to build a 45-36 lead over South Carolina in the Final Four.

The Bulldogs came close to going into halftime with a double-digit lead and on a 10-0 run, but Silas Melson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer was waved off.

Nigel Williams-Goss had 12 points to lead Gonzaga, whose surge came without their massive center.

Przemek Karnowski – 7-foot-1 and 300 pounds – took a hand to the face and went down hard under the Gonzaga basket. He stayed down for several minutes before making to the bench and going to the locker room.

South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell, the SEC player of the year, had just five points on 1-for-5 shooting.

Gonzaga suffered a setback late in the first half against South Carolina when big man Przemek Karnowski took a hand to the face and was taken to the locker room to be checked out.

Karnowski was led off the court by trainers after getting hit by South Carolina Chris Silva. He is expected to return.

South Carolina coach Frank Martin walked out on to the court to check on Karnowski. Martin bent over and said, “Are you all right?” An Gonzaga athletic trainer then attended to Karnowski.

The 7-foot-1 center from Poland had six points and four rebounds when he left.

Sindarius Thornwell has been red hot for South Carolina in the NCAA tournament. Not so much in the first half against Gonzaga.

The SEC player of the year was scoreless through the first 12 minutes of the game. And his backcourt mate Rakym Felder drew the wrath of South Carolina coach Frank Martin, who came onto the court midway through the first half to give a piece of his mind to the freshman guard.

Thornwell averaged 25.8 points through the first four games of the tournament.

South Carolina is taking a rare approach against Gonzaga by not double teaming Przemek Karnowski.

Previous teams in the NCAA Tournament have sent double teams at the Polish big man and he picked them apart with his deft passing. The Zags made 12 of 24 from 3-point in last week’s win over Xavier, many of those coming on kick-outs by Karnowski.

South Carolina has no one who can match the size of the 7-foot-1, 300-pound center, but the Gamecocks have held their ground so far.

The official who received death threats from Kentucky fans after the Elite Eight is the crew chief for the Final Four game between South Carolina and Gonzaga.

John Higgins worked last weekend’s game between North Carolina and Kentucky, which the Tar Heels won 75-73. Kentucky coach John Calipari began his post-game news conference talking about fouls and Kentucky fans began harassing Higgins, who runs a roofing company in Nebraska.

The Sarpy County Sheriff’s office in Nebraska said Higgins’ roofing company received about 3,000 harassing emails and an unknown number of phone calls, some including death threats. The Facebook page for Higgins’ company also was inundated with negative comments.

Gonzaga and South Carolina, both in their first Final Four, tipped off as fans poured in to cavernous University of Phoenix Stadium. Gonzaga brought an especially vocal fan contingent to cheer on the basketball-crazy school from Spokane, Washington.

The teams emerged from clouds of artificial smoke to take the court for final pre-game warmups.

The national anthem was performed by female athletes from each of the schools in the Final Four.

The game is being played in a retractable roof stadium, but the roof will be closed for the Final Four matchups. </s> From the corridors of The Pentagon to the fields of strife in the Middle East, there is one question that has been posed repeatedly this week by service members with a rooting interest in the only major college football game played the second Saturday in December.

If Army can't beat Navy this year, when will it?

It would indeed seem like a perfect storm of events has given the Black Knights an advantage going into Saturday's 117th meeting at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

Army has been off since blowing out Morgan State, 60-3, on Nov. 19 — giving head coach Jeff Monken three weeks to prepare his team for the annual matchup with Navy. The Black Knights are as healthy and rested as they have been all season.

Meanwhile, this marks the first year since 1941 that Navy has not had at least two weeks to get ready for its archrival. The Midshipmen played in the American Athletic Conference championship game last Saturday, meaning head coach Ken Niumatalolo had only three practices to prepare his team for the biggest game of the season.

Making matters worse for the Midshipmen was the fact last Saturday was a total disaster on several levels. Navy not only got hammered by Temple on the scoreboard (34-10), but also got beat up on the field — losing numerous players to injuries over the course of the contest.

Record-setting starting quarterback Will Worth (broken bone in right foot) and top slotback Toneo Gulley (Lisfranc in left foot) both suffered season-ending injuries on the same play. Darryl Bonner, who has been Navy's most explosive slotback this season, was knocked out by a concussion and will not be available against Army. Tyler Carmona, the team's best blocking wide receiver, will sit out Saturday's game with a foot injury.

There was a look of shock and disbelief on the faces of Navy players and coaches as they trudged toward the home locker room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Even athletic director Chet Gladchuk was not his usual optimistic self, being overhead muttering "I bet the guys up the street will be licking their chops after this" as he walked off the field.

Gladchuk was clearly speaking about the Black Knights on the Hudson River, who no doubt watched on television as the Midshipmen were dismantled by the Owls. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo was asked about all the circumstances that would seem to favor Army heading into Saturday's showdown.

"It's true. We do have a ton of guys hurt. Obviously, we are coming off a devastating loss. And Army has a really good football team," Niumatalolo said. "But we didn't have any time to feel sorry for ourselves. We had to press forward and find a way to rally. We're banged up, but this is the Army game. Whoever is available needs to strap it up and roll."

As a result of last weekend's carnage, Navy will have a sophomore quarterback making his first career start against Army. Zach Abey, an Archbishop Spalding product who has made just three previous collegiate appearances, will have fewer weapons at his disposal due to the loss of Gulley, Bonner and Carmona.

Gulley leads the team's slotbacks with 427 rushing yards while Bonner has been a big-play threat, averaging 12 ½ yards per touch. Carmona (6-4, 222), who in essence plays a tight end role in certain formations, had receptions of 35 and 47 yards versus East Carolina and SMU.

This stunning confluence of events has even prompted the West Point contingent to express new-found confidence about finally ending its ignominious 14-game losing streak in the series.

"I think this is the best chance we've had in a couple years. We're definitely going to go in with a winning mentality," Army linebacker Alex Aukerman told CBS Sports. "Two years ago, it was like, 'If we play perfect, we can hang with them and win.' It's just slowly transitioning into, 'This is our game to lose this year.' "

Not everyone on the Army side is swayed by the outside noise that Navy is suddenly vulnerable. The Midshipmen (9-3) still come in 25th in the final College Football Playoff rankings and plenty of good players available on both sides of the ball.

"I don't buy into any of that stuff. Ken Niumatalolo is one of the best football coaches in the country and he'll have that team ready to play," third-year Army head coach Jeff Monken said. "A year ago, we started a sophomore quarterback, Chris Carter, who had not played in a college football game until one game before Army-Navy. Chris played well and we had a chance to win that game. Now Navy's in the same situation this season. I'm sure Abey will go in there and do a great job."

Senior inside linebacker Jeremy Timpf, a rare two-year captain who is tied for the team lead with 88 tackles, echoed those sentiments.

"I'm sure there are some external factors at work, but I'm not going out there on Saturday expecting Navy to be any different than every other year. This is the Army-Navy game. There are never any excuses out on that field. That's what makes this game so special," Timpf said.

One would think defensive coordinator Jay Bateman would have the Black Knights employ some tactics designed to confuse and rattle Abey. Last year, Army routinely alternated defensive assignments that caused four-year starting quarterback Keenan Reynolds to make some wrong reads.

"We're not going to do anything different than we would have done against their starting quarterback. It's up to their players to handle whatever we throw at them," Timpf said. "We had a strong game plan in place before Worth went down with an injury and we're going to throw the same game plan at this new quarterback."

Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper insisted he would not scale back the game plan because of Abey's lack of experience, but Niumatalolo admitted that has to be taken into account.

"Obviously, we have to tweak things for Zach and what he does. He's been running the second huddle all season so he knows what we do. We have to do what makes us successful, but we also have to play to his strengths," Niumatalolo said. "I'm not a sports psychologist so I can't really get inside the kid's head. Ivin and I will try our best to help him. All you can do is prepare him the best you can, give him stuff that he can do and hope he'll be successful."

Abey and the rest of the Navy offense will be challenged to consistently move the ball against an Army defense that ranks fifth nationally in total yards allowed (288.9 per game). Timpf and fellow inside linebacker Andrew King (88 tackles) lead a unit that figures to be very aggressive in pressing the line of scrimmage.

"Tough, hard-nosed and well-coached. When you watch that team on tape, it is very physical," Niumatalolo said of the Army defense. "King and Timpf are as good of linebackers as I've seen all year. They're just solid and no frills. They will hit you in the mouth and attack on defense."

Jasper said this week that Abey does not "need to be the hero" and feel like the offensive burden is on his shoulders. Niumatalolo noted the primary responsibilities of the quarterback have never changed during the triple-option era: Get Navy into the right play, distribute the ball properly based off reads and do not commit turnovers.

While the losses have been significant, Navy still boasts a solid fullback tandem in Chris High and Shawn White, who have combined to rush for 904 yards and 12 touchdowns. Dishan Romine (416 rushing yards), who left last week's game with an injury, will play and becomes the top slotback threat.

Navy will no doubt need to throw the ball in order to keep the Army defense honest and wide receiver Jamir Tillman (35 catches for 582 yards) will be the primary target. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound senior made big plays in the two previous Army-Navy games, turning a short pass into a 50-yard touchdown last season and scoring off a 9-yard strike in 2014.

Meanwhile, Army ranks second national in rushing offense with an average of 328.9 yards, one yard more than third-ranked Navy. Ahmad Bradshaw will start at quarterback for the Black Knights, but the aforementioned Chris Carter will also see some action. Bradshaw is the team's second-leading rusher with 644 yards and six touchdowns, but has completed just 42.9 percent of his passes for 615 yards and four scores.

Bruising fullback Andy Davidson (6-2, 220), a converted linebacker, is Army's leading rusher with 818 yards and nine touchdowns.

Sophomore Jordan Asberry (367 yards, 4 touchdowns) is the most dangerous slotback. Senior wide receiver Edgar Poe is the go-to guy in the passing game, averaging almost 21 yards per catch. Poe made a huge impact in last year's loss to the Mids with five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown.

Navy has been susceptible to the big play this season, allowing 29 gains of 30 yards or more (76th nationally). The Midshipmen rank 127th out of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision schools in third down defense, allowing opponents to convert 52 percent of the time.

Junior inside linebacker Micah Thomas is the runaway leader in tackles (90) for Navy while freshman safety Alohi Gilman, the ECAC Rookie of the Year, ranks second (62). Senior defensive end Amos Mason and junior outside linebacker D.J. Palmore, who have 20 tackles for loss between them, are also key figures on defense.

 

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 Visit The Capital (Annapolis, Md.) at www.hometownannapolis.com

 Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. </s> GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Gonzaga and North Carolina have turned their attention toward Monday’s national championship game.

The teams are holding news conferences and a closed practice at University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday afternoon after both earned tough wins in the national semifinals the night before.

The Zags beat South Carolina 77-73 in the first game. Then the Tar Heels beat Oregon 77-76 in the nightcap.

Gonzaga (37-1) is in the Final Four for the first time, while North Carolina (32-7) is in the Final Four for a record 20th time. That includes last year’s run to the national championship game, where the Tar Heels lost to Villanova on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. </s> Clemson (11-1) takes on Virginia Tech (9-3) at 8 p.m. Saturday in the ACC Championship Game at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The game is on ABC. </s> Trump Says Federal Government Is Ready for Hurricane Florence

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Latest on Hurricanes Florence and Isaac (all times local):

North Carolina’s governor has ordered a mandatory evacuation for the state’s barrier islands as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast.

Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that he had issued a first-of-its-kind state evacuation to help prompt residents of the barrier islands, including the Outer Banks, to leave.

Cooper said local governments are typically responsible for issuing evacuation orders in North Carolina, and some localities have already issued orders to evacuate.

But Cooper said he believed Florence will be “so fierce” that the state needs to provide an “added incentive” for people to leave.

Governors in South Carolina and Virginia have also issued mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the storm.

Meteorologists say they are expecting rainfall from Hurricane Florence to measure in feet, not inches.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center forecasts as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain, if not more, for parts of North Carolina. Rain could reach as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) elsewhere in North Carolina, Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington, D.C.

But one trusted computer model, the European simulation, is predicting more than 45 inches (114 centimeters) of rain in parts of North Carolina, such as New Hanover County, with meteorologists comparing the rainfall to last year’s Hurricane Harvey.

A year ago people would have laughed off a forecast of 45 inches of rain, but the European model was accurate in predicting 60 inches (152 centimeters) of rain for Harvey.

University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy says it is “looking likely” that Florence will unleash feet, not inches of rain.

President Trump says the federal government is “absolutely, totally prepared” for Hurricane Florence as it heads toward the Eastern Seaboard.

The president briefed reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday.

Trump has declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina ahead of the Category 4 hurricane, which frees up help from federal agencies.

He has also canceled campaign events Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the storm.

The president was meeting with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency later Tuesday.

Some areas in Florence’s path, particularly northern Virginia, have seen more rainfall than normal this summer, and National Weather Service officials say that means flooding might begin more quickly.

Data from the weather service show some parts of northern Virginia have seen 10 inches (25 centimeters) or more of precipitation above average over the past 90 days.

Fred Turck is part of the Virginia’s Department of Forestry’s fire and emergency response division. He says the department is concerned about what could be excessive timber damage. He says when soil is saturated, less wind than normally would be needed can topple a tree because the roots don’t hold as well.

Turck says tree damage will result in short-term impacts like power outages, blocked roads and damaged structures but could also impact the long-term health of forests and lead to wildfire problem.

The mayor of Washington, D.C., has declared a state of emergency as the nation’s capital prepares for heavy rains, flooding and power outages related to Hurricane Florence.

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the move Tuesday morning, describing it as a necessary step to “ensure we have the resources and support” to handle several days of torrential rain.

Several public events and street festivals scheduled for this weekend have been canceled, and Bowser advised Washington residents to stock up on groceries and batteries and make sure their prescriptions are filled.

City officials say the primary dangers to residents will come from flash flooding and power lines downed by falling tree branches.

Some Virginians who have been ordered to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Florence may have to wait a few days before they can get into a free shelter.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Jeff Caldwell said local governments are responsible for opening up shelters for evacuees and some won’t open until Wednesday or Thursday.

Gov. Ralph Northam ordered a mandatory evacuation for some residents of low-lying coastal areas that went into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The order affects 245,000 residents in the Hampton Roads area, the Eastern Shore and other coastal areas.

Caldwell said the state is considering opening its own shelters later this week if the local shelters fill to capacity.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is saying his state is “in the bull’s-eye” of Hurricane Florence. The very center of that bull’s-eye may be Camp Lejeune. Authorities on the sprawling Marine Corps training base are in emergency mode, staging equipment and urging families on the base to build survival kits with the food and equipment needed to sustain themselves for 72 hours.

Mandatory coastal evacuations were in effect for civilians in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, but the military base posted on Facebook that different chains-of-command would decide whether to release non-essential personnel. Some military families are venting fears they won’t be able to evacuate in time.

Officials say they’re taking steps to ensure safety at nuclear power plants in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane nears the state.

Ryan Mosier of Duke Energy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the power company was closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and ensuring that emergency equipment is in working order.

Duke operates three nuclear stations in South Carolina, though none are along the coast. SCANA operates two reactors at a site just north of Columbia.

Mosier says each of Duke’s sites has emergency generators for backup power, as well as pumps and other redundant systems and supplies of food and water for employees.

If forecasters predict any site will experience sustained winds of 73 mph (117 kph) or more, Mosier says operators will begin to shut down units at least two hours prior to impact.

Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is preparing for a possible tropical storm system in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

The tropical system is one of five that have formed in the Atlantic Ocean, including hurricanes Florence and Helene, Tropical Storm Isaac and an as-yet unnamed system far off the East Coast. Abbott says Texas is keeping an eye on the system in the Gulf.

The National Hurricane Center says that system could become a tropical depression by Thursday or Friday, and that residents along both the Texas and Louisiana coasts should monitor the storm.

Florence is the most powerful and dangerous of all the weather systems. The Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph (215 kph) winds was barreling toward the coasts of North and South Carolina and has been forecast to hit land as an extremely large, powerful and dangerous storm. Some coastal residents have been ordered to evacuate.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says he has lifted mandatory evacuation orders in three counties along the state’s southern coast. McMaster made the announcement Tuesday as forecasters continued to show Hurricane Florence’s projected tract moving farther northward. McMaster also said lane reversals would begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 26, an hour earlier than had been scheduled, allowing all lanes of the interstate to move westward, away from the coast.

Forecasters say Florence will arrive on land as an extremely dangerous major hurricane by the end of the week.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (215 kph). By 11 a.m. Tuesday, Florence was centered about 905 miles (1,455 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moving west-northwest at 16 mph (25 kph). Its center will move between Bermuda and the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday, then approach the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina.

Two other storms are spinning in the Atlantic as the 2018 hurricane season peaks: Tropical Storm Isaac is approaching the Caribbean, while Hurricane Helene is no threat to land over waters. As Isaac approaches the Caribbean, hurricane watches are in effect for Guadeloupe, Martinique and Dominica, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Antigua and Montserrat.

The Navy has authorized an emergency evacuation order ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

Rear Adm. Charles Rock is commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. He said in a statement Tuesday that the safety of personnel and families is his top priority now.

The order follows Virginia’s evacuation order and remains in effect until Sept. 16. So far, state officials’ tiered system only requires residents of the most flood-prone areas, known as “Zone A,” to leave their homes.

The Navy’s order applies to Navy and civilian personnel, dependents of active-duty service members and reservists on active duty living in Hampton Roads and Zone A.

The Navy says Region Mid-Atlantic evacuees are authorized to proceed within 500 miles (805 kilometers) of the designated remote safe haven area of Asheville, North Carolina. Others should head to the remote safe haven area designated by their parent chain of command.

The Virginia Department of Corrections has evacuated inmates from a coastal prison as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast.

The department said in a statement Tuesday that the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake was evacuated Monday night after Gov. Ralph Northam issued a mandatory evacuation order for some of the state’s lowest-lying coastal areas. The medium-security facility provides treatment programs for substance-abusing offenders.

The department also says all visitation statewide is canceled for Saturday and Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center says Florence is expected to approach the coast of North or South Carolina on Thursday, but Virginia is also under a state of emergency. Officials say the state is expecting a coastal storm surge, high wind, inland flooding and widespread power outages.

The Democrat running to be South Carolina’s next governor has been called up for guard duty as the state prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

Campaign spokesman Brad Warthen tells The Associated Press that James Smith has been activated as part of his service as a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard.

Warthen didn’t know specifically where Smith had been stationed, but the Army says guardsmen typically help when traffic patterns are altered for evacuations.

Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered the evacuation of South Carolina’s coastline. State troopers are clearing eastbound lanes of Interstate 26 so that they could be reversed later Tuesday.

Smith is challenging McMaster in this fall’s election. On Monday, both candidates suspended their campaigns as the state gets ready for the storm.

The Army says the South Carolina National Guard has mobilized about 1,600 soldiers and airmen to prepare for Hurricane Florence.

South Carolina’s governor has ordered more than a million people living along the state’s coast to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Florence.

Gov. Henry McMaster says he’s preparing the state for winds as powerful as Hurricane Hugo, which plowed inland nearly 30 years ago and caused devastating damage.

McMaster said on CNN Tuesday that officials are “taking nothing for granted” with Florence predicted to make landfall Thursday. The storm is so huge that South Carolina won’t be spared even if it escapes the eye of the hurricane.

The evacuation order becomes mandatory at noon Tuesday, but cameras show traffic already backing up along the main interstate connecting Charleston and Columbia.

National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham is warning that the “staggering” size of Florence means its impacts will be felt far and wide.

Forecasters say hurricane-force winds extend up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the center of Hurricane Florence, and tropical storm-force winds reach up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) from its eye.

That means the hurricane will be dumping rain over multiple East Coast states, and it’s not just a coastal problem. With torrential rains in the Appalachian mountains, that water could easily cause flash floods.

President Donald Trump is canceling a campaign rally in advance of Hurricane Florence’s landfall.

His campaign says it’s canceling a Thursday event in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he had been scheduled to stump for the Republican senate candidate, state attorney general Josh Hawley.

The campaign said the event was scuttled out of safety concerns. It was the second rally Trump cancelled this week due to the storm, following a Friday rally slated for Mississippi.

The massive hurricane is closing in on the Carolinas and Virginia and could cause disastrous weather as far as Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The National Hurricane Center says a new report from an Air Force Reserve Unit hurricane hunter aircraft indicates that Hurricane Florence’s top sustained winds have decreased slightly to 130 mph (215 kph), with higher gusts.

Florence is still a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to regain its top wind strength in the next day or so. It remains an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night.

The 8 a.m. forecast changes the storm surge watch for the eastern United States, with the worst impact, a surge of up to 12 feet, expected on a stretch from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout in North Carolina. It says total rainfall could reach 30 inches in some places, prompting life-threatening flash flooding from South Carolina to Northern Virginia.

Hurricane Florence has slightly increased in speed as it heads toward the U.S. East Coast.

The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning that Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 kmh) and the storm will continue a slight increase in speed during the next couple of days.

The Miami-based center says the storm’s center was located about 410 miles (660 kilometers) south of Bermuda and about 975 miles (1570 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 140 mph (220 kph) as it moved west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night.

Hurricane Florence continues to grow in size and magnitude as it barrels toward the U.S. East Coast.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday the monster storm will be close to Category 5 strength by Tuesday. A Category 5 storm has the potential to cause catastrophic damage.

“The bottom line is that there is high confidence that Florence will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of its exact intensity,” the hurricane center said. Florence was a Category 4 storm late afternoon Monday.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the storm’s center was located about 465 miles (750 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda and about 1,085 miles (1745 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 140 mph (220 kph) as it moved west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Some strengthening is expected during the next 36 hours, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday.
The North Carolina Tar Heels football game against the UCF Knights and the North Carolina State Wolfpack game against the West Virginia Mountaineers are cancelled due to Hurricane Florence.