This is likely a matter of context, but Chip Towers is getting the impression that if Saturday’s Georgia-South Carolina game can’t go off in Columbia because of of weather associated with Hurricane Matthew, the wheels are already in motion to move the game to the Georgia Dome that night.
Of course, there already is a game scheduled to be played in the Georgia Dome on Saturday. Georgia State plays its home games there and it is hosting Texas State at 3:30 p.m. The game is set to be broadcasted on ESPN3.
However, persons with knowledge of the situation say a scenario is being discussed in which the Panthers’ game would be moved up to noon. Then the Georgia-South Carolina game would be moved back to 8 p.m. That would then build in enough time for the Georgia Dome staff to reset for the Georgia game.
Again, none of this is official. As of Tuesday evening, Georgia State officials said they have not been contacted by anybody from UGA or South Carolina. Georgia Dome officials also declined comment.
Obviously losing a home game with all the attendant logistical issues is not an attractive option for the ‘Cocks. And, as The State’s Josh Kendall notes, Carolina’s been down that road before and didn’t like it.
South Carolina could move the game, but it’s unclear where it would go. Gamecocks officials have not had any discussions with Georgia Dome officials about playing the game there, USC athletics director Ray Tanner told The State via text on Wednesday morning. Although Clemson’s stadium is available on Saturday, any game in the state would take the same law enforcement and public service resources that could be needed for hurricane response.
Georgia’s Sanford Stadium obviously is available, but after playing a home game on an opponent’s field last year (the LSU game) the Gamecocks likely will try whatever they can to avoid that option, especially since the Bulldogs are a division rival.
Which leaves one other option: don’t change the venue, change the day.
What about a change of day? Most of the forecasts for Matthew still suggest the storm will be past the South Carolina coast by Sunday. Anybody got anything going on Sunday?
I’m good, thanks for asking. Not sure how thrilled ESPN will be with that, though.
I have no idea what’s coming, but it’s pretty clear that if they’re not going to play in Columbia Saturday night, they’d better come up with a Plan B real soon.
Get The Picture 
If this storm ends up as bad as everyone is being led to believe, there’s no way they’re playing a football game in Columbia this weekend even on Sunday. Yes, it sucks for USCe, but go ahead and announce the game is moving to Atlanta or Athens.
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Sounds like we’re gaining momentum for building Dome stadiums on college campuses now;-). The donors are already paying for IPFs, so heck why not take the next leap and have us fund covered stadiums with the surplus cash…
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Syracuse, Idaho, North Dakota, North Dakota State, and South Dakota already have on-campus domes.
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Even if it turns out not to be as bad as feared, the only way to find out for sure is to wait until it’s too late to play anywhere else. The logistics of dealing with all the people who are being evacuated through Columbia now make playing a game there very, very difficult even in a best case scenario.
I can understand them not wanting to give up a home game. However, it’s the height of stupidity, not to mention an inability to prioritize correctly, to be more worried about a stupid football game between two teams going no place than it is to see the big picture about a hurricane and the need to maintain resources for public safety. It’s almost like our AD is running the South Carolina athletic department.
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Thank you.
Why not just move it to Athens this year and give them the next two at home?
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Because then Georgia has a five game home schedule next year with Appalachian State, Mississippi State, Samford, Missouri, and Kentucky. That’ll really get the ticket buyers excited.
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McGarity sure timed that donation increase well.
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it’s not UGA’s fault they decided to build a stadium in the path of a hurricane. Why should we give up a home game next year because we offered to help them out by giving them a place to play THIS year when the Cockroach was not available? I guess we could always accept a forfeit.
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As a survivor of Hurricane Charley in 2004, the issue is public safety resources. The Governor has to move all available resources to the coast. Even if the game was playable on Saturday or Sunday a state of emergency would exist. Just remember they are evacuating a million people inland from the coast. The motels in and around Columbia are under extreme pressure from FEMA to house the evacuees. I expect that if your an out of state visitor or an in state booster from other than the coast you are already getting a call to cancel your reservations.
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Absolute joke this game has not been moved yet. Refugees are heading up I-95 and I-26 as I write this. They all need rooms in Columbia, Charlotte, Augusta, etc…
Football can take a back seat right now and the SEC officials need to get off their ass and think on their feet…damn
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No one’s playing at the Cow Pasture this weekend. (hahaha)
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Don’t even mess around about that … 🙂
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“I’m good, thanks for asking” You’re killing me over here!
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I’m not feeling too good myself.
https://twitter.com/Rschooley/status/783534824409661440
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Birmingham…an extra two hours of driving for the folks from SC however.
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Part of this equation has to be the cost to rent the Georgia Dome. Although if GSU football can afford it …
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Charlotte is pretty close to Columbia. And it would avoid the perception of making it a UGA home game by moving it to the state of Georgia. And selfishly, it’s pretty close to me.
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That wouldn’t hurt my feelings.
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I fully support a move to Charlotte. Would be nice to only have to drive 20 minutes to the stadium.
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Aiken High School here in Aiken, SC. An hour from Cola, 2 hours from Athens, 5 minutes from my house. Everybody wins, especially me.
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SEC and Vandy could double buy Tennesse State out and move Vandy game to 10/22 and play USC next week since they have an open date. SC could cancel UMass on 10/22 and play us. Of course that would cost us our open date before Florida but what difference has that really made? Just like Towers, I’m just speculatin’.
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Historic Mark Richt field is not being used this weekend.
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Yeah, but can that place actually handle a capacity crowd?
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Once every two years, in late November, we actually see that it’s possible, given time for advance planning!!!
Maybe they could move it there and make the game a studio show, like the SEC tournament at the Techster hoops venue was a few years ago.
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I was there and it was glorious!!!
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My brother lives near Chareston, and is waiting to see where the storm is heading before leaving. He probably has that luxury because he has more options than most.
But moving a football game limits your ability to just wait and see. They need to make a decision pretty soon.
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I can tell you where he is heading….the hell out of the Low Country!
He may very well have options, and hopefully some are with family, but I hope he won’t be needing a hotel room. There won’t be any available I can guarantee that.
I delivered supplies to the Georgia Welcome Center on I-20 some years back when the coast of SC evacuated. Folks were stranded for hundreds of miles with no where to stay…it is definitely a serious situation and football can wait!
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Bigger question, UGA goes 5-2 in the SEC winning out without this game being played, UT finishes 5-3….UF finishes 6-2 with the loss to UGA…in other words, this game needs to be played, if for no other reason than that very scenario.
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Do the Vowels get Mizzou at home or on the road? Because I think Lock having a career game is our best hope for a 3rd UT loss (assuming Butch’s rabbit foot doesn’t show up vs TAMU and/or Bama).
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Another option is they play the game in Columbia with no fans in attendance and tell everyone to stay home and spare the resources required to host. However, they’ll never do it because of the perceived negative image of televising a game from an empty stadium.
This should make for an interesting negotiation since I doubt we want to give up the bye before Florida and play this game on the 22nd. I would also be shocked if they agree to play this game in Athens.
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One of the big reasons they want to play in Columbia besides the home field advantage is the revenue. If they play without any fans, they lose both of those advantages and would be better off moving the game.
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The city will have all the revenue it needs from the evacuees. They need the hotel rooms.
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Yep. Needs to move today to the Dome. It’s a no-brainer.
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Debby, I’m talking about the university, not the city. USCjr probably generates $2.5M – $3M per home game that they’d lose not to mention ticket refunds and extra travel costs if the game moves to the dome. They’d be lucky to collect $1.5M in revenue if played at the dome, so they’ll wait as long as possible before deciding to move it.
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They should have insurance. I feel no pity for their athletic department. This is totally about SCU wanting a chance to beat UGA in Columbia
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Is Bristol still a football stadium?
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I’m good with moving it to the Dome. Prefer a 5:00 pm start if anyone’s asking.
That storm track looks like the state of SC has a bulls eye on it.
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There is a change in the NHC forecast re intensity and direction. Look at their site. Plus if you go the the NWS site for Columbia and look at the page for details you may think the SEC and ESPN leaves the game alone. The hourly forecast page show lower rain but does show sustained winds and gusts
Plus Dawgs QBs are practicing with wet balls.
Can not look at the Weather Channel for good results.
Pull up the nws. noaa.gov and put cursor over Columbia and look at the NWS station for that locale.
If they want to change then I would say their cut off has to be this afternoon.
A lot of logistics goes into moving D1 football teams.
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Went there and it shows the forecast of 1.27″ from Fri AM to Sunday AM isn’t much, but it depends upon the time most of the rain will hit. Going by the past experience we have had down here, I consider that to be in the outer band with intermittent rain clouds mostly from Fri nite to Sat noon. Any more to hit after that will be small rains over longer period of time.
I’ll bet that they will play the game there under sloppy conditions. That’ll make the odds even up toward SC’s favor and that’s motivation enough.
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This has nothing to do with the weather in Columbia and everything to do with the people from the Low Country evacuating inland and the need for first responders to help with the evacuation and the storm’s aftermath rather than being at a football game.
Move the game, USCe.
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Exactly
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That is the point, weather in Columbia was always manageable barring a veer to the west. Issue is the need for hotel rooms for a more pressing group, and the use of emergency personnel elsewhere. Everyone understands what they don’t want, but no one can understand their lack of urgency in developing a backup plan. No excuse for that. If we cannot play due to the lack of action by SC officials, it should be a 1-0 forfeit to UGA. Dome or Athens, IF needed, Sc if they get lucky with Mother Nature. Decision announcement tonight, or tomorrow. Even if the fans are mostly empty, the game should be played.
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My take: Shit happens. Play it in the Dome. Did folks cry when we had to go on the road at Auburn for 2 straight years recently? At least “Natural disaster” is a helluva better reason than “Conference realignment”.
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If not Columbia, why not Athens in order to benefit local merchants? Atlanta isn’t exactly the neutral site to play such a game, so why not benefit the local Athen’s economy? It probably will give mo’ money to both teams than if they played in Atlanta.
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Atlanta is much better equipped to handle the influx of unexpected people than Athens is or could ever be. Plus, when will SC jr fans ever get a chance to see their team play an SEC game in the Dome if they pass on this opportunity???
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They played AU for the SEC Title…at least my memory says they did.
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Yes 2010
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Yes, but Halley’s Comet will probably be back before it happens again.
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+1 It’s Boom’s only chance.
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Well, they were present for the game. I don’t know if “played” is the right verb for the least competitive SECCG in recent memory.
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SC played in the 2010 Championship game but I would say that UGA / LSU blowout in 2011 was more recent.
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You are referring to the game we led LSU into the 3rd quarter as being similar to the game where you were laying on the mat the entire game after the first punch was thrown? That is your idea of the same type of competitive football game? Man, you guys should stick to baseball, you obviously don’t get this football thingy.
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Fiftyburger and we made Spurrier quit on you guys.
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At least “Natural disaster” is a helluva better reason than “Conference realignment”.
Is there a difference in the two?
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I cried.
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Team stays at UGA hotel on home games, they called this am, booked for conference, definitely not in Athens.
See ya at the dome.
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Mark Richt has lost control of the weather….dammit Bobo.. Has anyone asked Boom if he’ll just concede defeat? It’s worth the effort if all he can say is no ,right?
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I blame McGarity.
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Looks like Matthew will give us its best shot.
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As natural disasters always do.
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The fact that USC is playing chicken (see what I did there) with this storm should tell everyone how much they want this game at home and how big of a deal it is for Boom. If it’s in Columbia, I except a very tough game. If it’s not, I hope we shove another fiftyburger down their throat.
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Boom is likely loving the idea of a wet defensive struggle of a game
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If I were SC I’d do just what they are doing, holding out for as long as possible. No doubt the SEC and even other schools are involved in this decision since it is a conference game.
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Last time I checked SCU is a state University and as such is subject to the government of South Carolina. If the governor thinks it is in the best interest of the state of emergency, she can order the game not to be played in the state. I think she implied that it should not be played earlier on to give the parties time to come up with an alternate site. If they fail to do so she pulls the plug.
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If you leave it to McEars to plan….the game will end up at the intramural fields of Regents University in Disgusta….because he has no plan b.
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It’s Augusta University, douche bag.
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Oh really?? How is one to remember as it has changed names a half dozen times in recent years….
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Sunday would be great, I only watch football on Sunday twice a year, the labor Day college game and the Super Bowl (which is in doubt now)
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Did anyone experience the Georgia dome staff for the UNC game?? I’d hate to experience it after another game! No paper towels in bathroom by half-time. Concessions took the entire length of halftime. Very few condiments.
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The place has always sucked.
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if you think the Dome’s ambience sucked, see what happens if they move it to Legion Field. They might as well move the game to Mogadishu.
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Oh yea, been there too for the All America Bowl!
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Looks like Ray Nagin’s staff of “decision makers” has landed in SC’s athletic department while their ex-chief is in the Federal Pen. How can you not have a backup plan by now?
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It looks like the backup plan is to play on Sunday.
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If so, I hope we are allowed to refuse. There are plenty of available options to play on Saturday but the SC staff sat on their asses. If this storm comes on the path it is projected to, the state needs to be more focused on the safety and welfare of its citizens. Things could be just as bad on Sunday as they are on Saturday for those needing rooms and assistance. Just a bad backup plan. They could get lucky with a path change and no issues at all, but it doesn’t change that having a viable alternative was fumbled by a staff that acted like a child that only had one toy on their Christmas list.
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National Hurricane Center is now predicting less of a problem for SC coast, but this is gonna be a helluva storm…will it be a mess in Columbia Saturday night? I would not want to bet against that.
Ray Nagin says we better get that Dome deal done.
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Sunday? I can’t be hung over on Monday.
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Gov Hailey just said there will be no state troopers to help with the game. Thqe SEC needs tpo move it.
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ATHENS — The Georgia-South Carolina game will remain in Columbia. What day and what time, however, remain up in the air.
South Carolina released a statement at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday that said the game “will be played in Columbia,” meaning it will not be moved to Athens or to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome.
But there is discussion about playing the game on Sunday or even Monday, or changing the time of the game, depending on how Hurricane Matthew and its aftermath plays out. A final decision on when the game is played would come on Thursday.
The game is currently scheduled for a 7:30 pm kickoff on Saturday night.
South Carolina’s statement:
“The University of South Carolina and its athletics department are continuing to monitor the movements of Hurricane Matthew as it relates to the scheduled football game with the University of Georgia. We are in communication with the National Weather Service, state and local authorities and the SEC regarding potential weather issues.
“We anticipate a decision about the game to be made on Thursday. The safety of everyone affected by the storm and the minimization of the impact on emergency personnel are the most important factors in making the decision.
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Not moving from Cola. I hope it goes off on Saturday.
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We should refuse to play on Sunday or Monday and have a short week to turnaround for Vandy. Remember we have another noon SEC Network game the following weekend.
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Gamecock AD talking about possibly playing on Monday? Why not, from USC standpoint, as they don’t play on 10/14. But I hope we don’t get forced to play on Monday and face a short week before a noon start against Vandy.
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