The game is going ahead. That part Alabama has already settled, with the school confirming kickoff at 7:30pm local time on Saturday regardless of the storm bearing down on the Gulf Coast.
The one piece of the matchup still in doubt is the presidential motorcade. Donald Trump, who had publicly committed to the trip to Tuscaloosa, told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he was reconsidering.
“A hurricane and a football game. I love Alabama. I got to go to a game like that. We hopefully are,” Trump said, before conceding that the storm might force his hand.
“Look, I mean, if there’s an emergency or there’s a hurricane, I don’t want to do anything to take the focus off all of the great people that work on those things.”
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Pressed further, he added: “I hadn’t heard about a hurricane. The hurricane is going in the vicinity of Alabama. That’s not good. Certainly, I am going to let the hurricane determine. I want people to be safe.”
The ‘selfish’ charge
The hedging came after a round of criticism from fans and commentators who argue that a presidential visit during a hurricane would pull law enforcement and first responders away from storm response. College football writer Alex Kirshner summed up the complaint in an interview carried by Yahoo Sports.
“Use up however many first-responder resources that requires, while the region gets set to get blasted by a hurricane, really does just say a lot,” Kirshner said.
Fan reaction echoed the point in blunter terms, with the word “selfish” running through the responses collected around Trump’s planned appearance.
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Isaias is no longer theoretical
By Thursday morning, Isaias had strengthened into a hurricane and was taking aim at the northern Gulf Coast. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency said landfall was expected between Biloxi, Mississippi, and Panama City, Florida on Friday evening with sustained winds of 95-105 mph, and forecasters warned the storm could briefly reach Category 3 strength at 115 mph before coming ashore.
The center of circulation is forecast to track across western Alabama or eastern Mississippi on Saturday, the same day as kickoff. Mobile and Baldwin counties are under a hurricane warning; inland Alabama is in a hurricane watch, with gusts of 35-60 mph expected overnight into Saturday across the southern half of the state. Governor Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency for 40 counties.
Bryant-Denny Stadium sits roughly 200 miles inland in Tuscaloosa, far enough from the coast that the SEC and Alabama have said the game remains on schedule, with no plans to alter the contest.
GameDay set moves off the Quad
ESPN’s College GameDay crew will still broadcast from the Alabama campus on Saturday morning, but the set is being moved indoors to Coleman Coliseum, with the outdoor stage ruled out by the forecast.
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Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, whose side arrives at 5-0, played down the weather question when asked earlier in the week, telling reporters that “you can’t really practice conditions” and noting that his team had dealt with a similar forecast the week before.
Kickoff between the second-ranked Bulldogs and the sixth-ranked Crimson Tide is set for 7:30pm local time on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. As of Thursday evening, Trump had not confirmed whether he will be in attendance.
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