Hurricane Ida could affect Week 1 college football game featuring Top 5 team
By SDS Staff
Published:
Week 1 of the 2021 college football season could include a change of plans for a top-5 team.
Oklahoma, the No. 2 team in the Associated Press Top 25 entering Week 1, is scheduled to head to New Orleans to play Tulane on Sept. 4. With Hurricane Ida making its way toward Louisiana, Oklahoma Vice President and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione issued a statement Friday night on the status of the OU-Tulane game:
“As the National Weather Service tracks tropical storm and hurricane activity in the Atlantic and Gulf Regions, and as predictive models are updated, we have received many inquiries from fans planning to follow the Sooners to New Orleans next week when we open the 2021 football season at Tulane University. In the spirit of proactive planning and communication, I have been in regular contact with Tulane Athletics Director Troy Dannen for the past month. In the past few days, we have stayed in even closer contact as we continue to monitor the development of Hurricane Ida, which is currently forecasted to arrive along the Gulf Coast this weekend. First and foremost, our concern is with any and all those in the path of the storm. We are praying for everyone’s safety. At this time, the game slated for Saturday, September 4, is still on as planned. However, both universities are considering contingencies should post-storm conditions warrant. It is too early to speculate, but we will continue to monitor the situation and be prepared to take necessary actions as appropriate. Again, our concern rests with our friends at Tulane and all of those who could be impacted by the hurricane. Please follow OU Athletics online accounts for updates.”
The National Weather Service is projecting Ida will make landfall as a Category 4.
4PM CT Ida Update – The time to act is NOW. Hurricane Ida is now forecast to make landfall as a category 4 hurricane. This will bring SIGNIFICANT impacts to Southern Louisiana and Southern Mississippi. No major changes to the track at this time, moved just a touch to the east. pic.twitter.com/MRIiBaHTFt
— NWS New Orleans (@NWSNewOrleans) August 27, 2021
We’ll see if the game is played as scheduled in New Orleans or moved to a different location and/or date.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
