SEC officials still expect No. 2 Georgia and No. 6 Alabama to kick off as scheduled Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, even as Tropical Storm Isaias tracks toward the Gulf Coast. The latest Georgia-Alabama weather update shows no change to the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, though officials from both schools and the league are watching the storm’s path closely.
The game remains part of a loaded Saturday, Oct. 10 slate, and it carries extra attention after President Donald Trump announced he will attend the matchup in Tuscaloosa.
Georgia-Alabama Weather Update
Isaias is forecast to bring heavy rain, flooding risk and strong winds to the Southeast this weekend, according to CBS Sports. As of early Wednesday, the storm was moving east-northeast at 8 mph, and its predicted landfall point shifted from coastal Mississippi to coastal Alabama between Tuesday and Wednesday night, per On3. Current projections put landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast between Mississippi and Florida early Saturday morning.
Alabama Athletics released a statement saying there are no current plans to alter the contest, adding the department will keep observing conditions throughout the week and stay in contact with the SEC office, according to USA Today. An SEC official told CBS Sports the league is “keeping an eye on forecasts and staying in communication with schools with games that could be impacted by weather.”
On3 reported that officials at Alabama, Georgia and the SEC office are monitoring the storm in case kickoff time or location needs to change, but no decisions are expected before Thursday since storm tracks often shift in the final days before landfall.
What It Means
Nothing is confirmed to change yet. The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff stands as the current plan, even though an SEC source told CBS Sports “it’s possible the kickoff time could shift, but the current plan is to play as scheduled.” Any contingency beyond that line remains speculation the league has not addressed publicly.
The forecast itself carries some uncertainty. CBS Sports put the chance of rain at the game at 90%, while USA Today cited a National Weather Service figure of 70% for Oct. 10. The National Weather Service also projects showers and a possible thunderstorm becoming likely after 2 p.m. ET on game day, roughly an hour and a half before the scheduled kickoff.
Alabama meteorologist James Spann has said wind gusts could reach 30 to 40 mph and that a tornado threat is possible during the game window, depending on how the remnant tropical low tracks, per USA Today.
Context: Why The SEC Wants To Avoid Delays
On3 reported the SEC’s preferred outcomes are for the storm to speed up and move through Alabama by Friday or shift east toward the Florida Panhandle, either of which would spare Tuscaloosa a serious threat on Saturday. League and local officials are also wary of tying up emergency personnel on game-day duties if power outages or storm damage demand their attention elsewhere.
Scheduling adds another layer. Alabama plays at Tennessee next week, and Georgia hosts Auburn at Sanford Stadium on Oct. 17. Neither program wants a short week built around a weather-forced delay.
Team Impact
Both coaching staffs say the forecast has barely changed their preparation. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, “It’s uncertainty. [It’s] beyond my control. We as coaches game plan for multiple situations, weather conditions, when they’re there.
We had that same prep last week with the threat of those things. Doesn’t change a lot about practice. You have to practice good on good.
You’ve got to practice for the long term of the season, not just for one week.”
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said the weather is largely out of his hands as well. “Depends on the level of weather you get, it would affect what happens. It’s just, that’s not my area of expertise.
I’m just getting our football team ready. It hasn’t affected us much, other than we’re doing wet ball drills and get wet ball involved in some of our team reps, just like we did last week at times, preparing for the rain a week ago. I’m not really involved in too much,” DeBoer said.
Alabama is running wet-ball drills for the second straight week after similar prep ahead of its win over Mississippi State. Offensive lineman Jackson Lloyd said the Crimson Tide treat it as routine. “We practice in the wet conditions all the time.
We do wet ball trails every week to prepare for those moments. And then wind is something you see in pregame. You get to feel both sides of the stadium, which way the wind’s going, get a good read on it and how far you have to play a ball outside of uprights or where,” Lloyd said.
Georgia kicker Peyton Woodring said the conditions do not change his routine much. “It doesn’t really affect me too much. I mean, rain or shine, we’re doing the same thing no matter what. Plus you just get to run the ball more, so that’s always nice,” Woodring said.
ESPN’s College GameDay is scheduled to be on site for the matchup, and severe weather could factor into the pregame show, according to USA Today. No further details on how the broadcast would handle changing conditions have been released.
What’s Next
Officials do not expect to make any call on kickoff time or location before Thursday, giving the storm another day or two to clarify its path. Until then, the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium remains the plan, with both schools and the SEC continuing to track Isaias as it approaches the Gulf Coast.
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