Hurricane Isaac Alters Plans For Texas A&M, LSU And Others

The Oregon State Beavers football schedule was altered due to Hurricane Isaac, but the Pac-12 squad has now decided on a new date for their rescheduled game against FCS opponent Nicholls State. The game was supposed to be the season-opener for both teams.

Nicholls State -- located in lovely Thibodaux, La. -- was originally supposed to host the game, but it’s instead rescheduled to be played in Oregon on the first of December. The Associated Press reports that both teams have contingency plans in place, however, if the outcome of that game would alter either team’s postseason possibilities.

LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva implied that the game would have been difficult to reschedule when making the announcement:

The game will be played at 6 p.m. on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

So when the LA Tech game was delayed by Hurricane Isaac, does that mean those suspensions roll over to the Florida game, or ha ha why do you even have to ask:

The nature of their transgression was so specific that only an afternoon spent not playing Louisiana Tech will suffice as a punishment. An afternoon spent not playing Florida has nothing to do with the exact rules broken by the pair, and in fact would only dilute the waters of justice. I don’t get why this is so hard to understand.

Nicholls State is located in Thibodaux, Louisiana, which is located pretty close to the path that Isaac might tread. The campus is currently closed and it’s unlikely that the team would be able to reconvene on campus in time for the scheduled Friday charter flight to Oregon. Obviously the safety of the student-athletes and the city of Thibodaux takes a much larger priority over Saturday’s football contest.

Since Oregon State and Nicholls State have their bye weeks on different occasions, the only chance the two teams will have for a rematch will be on December 1st. Oregon State wouldn’t be able to play this contest if they were eligible for the Pac-12 Championship Game. Considering they are picked by the majority of college football experts to finish last in their division, it’s likely that this contest will probably happen on that date in Corvallis.

A final update should come later Wednesday night, around 9 p.m. ET, as Pernetti is expected to talk again with Tulane athletic director Rick Dickson. But as of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, the current 8:03 p.m. ET kickoff time will stay.

According to nola.com, the Superdome hasn’t sustained any major interior or exterior damage from the storm.

The storms from Hurricane Isaac have forced defending SEC Champion LSU to cancel practice on Wednesday. As first reported by ESPN, Miles nixed Wednesday drills as a safety measure as Isaac made landfall across the Gulf Coast, but the Tigers’ opening game against North Texas will be played as scheduled in Baton Rogue at 5 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Safety concerns over Isaac have already forced the postponement of Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech’s Thursday night game in Shreveport, Louisiana, as well as South Alabama’s home opener in Mobile against Texas-San Antonio.

Both teams’ revised schedules are below:

Texas A&M:

Louisiana Tech announced via their Twitter feed that their Week 1 game against Texas A&M has been postponed due to concerns over Hurricane Isaac.

The game was scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 30, but with Isaac strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico, officials for both schools decided to err on the side of caution and postpone the game as Louisiana prepares for a direct strike from Isaac.

As Hurricane Isaac bears down on the Gulf Coast, much of the college football world has been forced to pay close attention. One game, UTSA at South Alabama, has already been moved from Thursday night to Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, and more postponements could be on the way.

Already, Miami has moved its practices to the Dolphins’ indoor facility, while UCF is taking advantage of its own indoor field. Tulane is practicing in Birmingham, and Nicholls State is just skipping some practices altogether. Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech are still scheduled to play Thursday night in Shreveport, but are keeping a close watch on the forecast.