The No. 7 LSU football team is scheduled to take on the University of South Carolina at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina, but reports Tuesday sparked the question as to where the game will take place because of flooding and hurricane-like weather.
South Carolina’s campus is under water and the setting for the Southeastern Conference matchup is in limbo.
If the game can’t be played in Columbia, it will then likely be played at a neutral site. If that fails, there is a possibility for the matchup to be played in Baton Rouge, according to The Advocate.
LSU Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva was not available for comment Tuesday.
According to The Advocate, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta is frontrunning as secondary host-site, followed by Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Georgia Dome will host Appalachian State University and Georgia State University at 3:30 ET on Saturday.
South Carolina officials reached out to the Carolina Panthers, which have a bye-week this weekend, about possibly moving the Columbia-scheduled matchup to Charlotte, according to The Charlotte Observer. Bank of America Stadium is empty this weekend, but due to a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finding vacant hotel rooms may prove troublesome.
Also, LSU reached out to Tiger Stadium gameday workers to check on their availability if the game was to be moved to Baton Rouge.
“There are conversations about moving the game,” said South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner, according to The State. “There is a possibility of moving the game to another city. There are multiple cities in these conversations. Certainly, a game at LSU is in the realm of possibility. Our intentions are to stay on schedule and play here in Columbia.”
One of the options is for LSU is to fly to Columbia the day of the game, play, then fly back home that evening, said LSU Sports Radio Network sideline reporter Gordy Rush on his local radio show Tuesday.
Sunshine returned to Columbia on Tuesday, drying up several areas of the city, but evacuations remained on-going because many areas of the city are in a battle with the flood. At least 15 deaths are linked to the weather, according to The Post and Courier.
LSU Associate Athletic Director and Communications Director Michael Bonnette said a decision is expected by Wednesday evening.
“If we are asked to host this game in the next 24 hours, it’s certainly something we can do,” Bonnette said on WWL radio Tuesday. “It’s not going to be easy by any means. Our stadium is ready. We’re in that in-season mode. It can be done.”
The field in Williams-Brice Stadium held out the water well, Tanner said. But his concerns remain with police accessibility to campus and the area surrounding the stadium.
Classes at South Carolina were initially set to resume on Wednesday morning but now are canceled for the remainder of the week as of Tuesday.
“Our situation here regarding football is on-going,” Tanner said. “We are not 100 percent sure at this time that we will have a game at Williams-Brice [Stadium]. The planning is underway, but it is not a definite.”