Hurricane Isaiah could make landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend, hours before No. 2 Georgia plays No. 6 Alabama in a major college football game Saturday night that President Donald Trump plans to attend.
Isaias strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday evening, and forecasters say it could make landfall Friday evening or early Saturday somewhere along the Alabama-Mississippi-Florida coasts before moving north. The storm could prompt schools to cancel games, change kickoff times or even move games to other locations. The Southwestern Athletic Conference moved Florida A&M’s game against Alabama State from Saturday to Friday morning.
Trump, who was present Texas victory against Tennessee during another Southeastern Conference game on Sept. 26, was asked Wednesday about the storm.
“I love Alabama. I have to go to the game,” Trump responded.
Trump said he didn’t want to do “anything that would distract” from “all the great people who work on these things,” including first responders and police, adding “we’ll have to see” about his travel plans.
Georgia and Alabama have not disclosed contingency plans for the game scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. EDT in Tuscaloosa, 200 miles from the coast. Alabama released a statement saying that “at this time there are no plans to make any changes to the contest,” but school and SEC officials will continue to monitor conditions. The SEC ultimately makes the decision.
“It’s an uncertainty beyond my control,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I’m focused on preparing our team, our plan and our game plan.”
Smart said Georgia followed similar preparations last week with the threat of severe weather surrounding its game against Vanderbilt. The weather turned into a non-event during the Bulldogs’ 38-14 victory.
“We had the same preparation last week with the threat of these things,” he said. “You can’t really practice the conditions. You can’t simulate them, so you’re much better off educating, learning from the past of other people who have played in those conditions, and preparing your team to play and not succeed.”
The storm could trigger flash flooding with dangerous winds, heavy rain and tornadoes. Events in Alabama have already been canceled. James Spann, Alabama meteorologist told AL.com that moving the game to Sunday evening would be the best choice.
Smart and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said they are in the process of updating, but did not outline any contingency plans.
“I’m not really involved in much, I’m just aware of the current situation,” DeBoer said. “If there’s anything that should be adjusted, but you know, I haven’t heard anything recently.”
In 1988, Alabama postponed a September 17 game at Texas A&M to December due to Hurricane Gilbert. Georgia’s 2016 game at South Carolina was pushed back to Sunday due to Hurricane Matthew, while the LSU-Florida game that same Saturday was postponed until November.
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