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The biggest SEC matchup of the college football season so far is expected to be played as scheduled despite being in the direct path of Hurricane Isaias, but game day operations will be severely altered due to the inclement weather.
No. 2 Georgia visits No. 6 Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. ABC has the broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET, which could challenge Ohio State–Texas for the most-watched game of the season. Nearly 14 million viewers tuned in to the then No. 4-ranked Longhorns’ 24-23 come-from-behind victory over the Buckeyes, who were ranked No. 1 at the time.
Hurricane Isaias strengthened to a Category 3 storm Friday, with the Gulf Coast preparing for imminent landfall. The storm is largely projected to be north of Tuscaloosa by kickoff, but a number of safety precautions are being taken on campus ahead of the game.
‘College GameDay’ Shifts Indoors
ESPN’s College GameDay pregame show is moving from its typical outdoor setup to inside Alabama’s Coleman Coliseum, where the Crimson Tide basketball teams and some other sports play home games. Fans will still be permitted to attend inside the arena, and Pat McAfee’s “Kicking is Easy” contest will still be held, albeit indoors.
However, the weekly “College GameDay Scavenger Hunt” contest that launched this year—offering winners premium seating for the show—has been cancelled. So has the “First-in-Line” prize giveaway that rewards early arriving attendees. No overnight camping will be allowed, and fans will not be allowed to line up until 5:15 a.m. CT ahead of the program’s 8 a.m. CT air time.
A Tamer Tuscaloosa
Alabama has banned tailgating and all other outdoor activities on campus prior to noon CT on Saturday, and will only allow uncovered tailgating after that. No pre-arrival setup will be allowed Friday or Saturday morning. Hurricane Isaias is expected to bring high winds to the area in addition to severe rainfall.
All activities on and around the Quad—a 22-acre green space at the heart of Alabama’s campus that is popular for tailgating—have been canceled. The weekly Champions Lane pregame fan fest—a free 60,000-square-foot entertainment area—has also been canceled. The “Elephant Stomp” pregame pep rally is not currently planned to take place.
Trump’s Game Status Fluid
U.S. President Donald Trump has been expected to attend Georgia-Alabama, but on Wednesday he acknowledged Hurricane Isaias could change his plans. “We’ll have to see,” he told reporters at the White House.
Trump attended the Texas-Tennessee game in Knoxville on Sept. 26—part of a big sporting weekend for him that also included being at the final day of the Presidents Cup in Chicago. The number of major sporting events Trump has attended this year is now in the double digits and still growing.
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