Oregon St.'s football season opener on Saturday could be a casualty of hurricane Issac, if the storm is bad enough when it hits Louisiana. Nicholls St. administrators have shut down their university until at least Wednesday (Update: Classes are now cancelled through Thursday), and there will be no football activities through at least Wednesday.
The Colonels are scheduled to fly out of New Orleans for the game on Friday morning, but that's dependent on the weather and the damage that could result in the low-lying Gulf Coast state that's prone to flooding.
A final decision may not come, or be possible, until some time from Wednesday evening through mid-day Thursday.
If the game can't come off as scheduled, a delay until later in the 3-day Labor Day weekend may not be feasible. Making up the game would have to come on the first weekend in December, as the teams do not have coinciding byes. That scenario would also mean that Oregon St. does not reach the Pac-12 Championship game, and that Nicholls St. does not reach the FCS playoffs, and that both schools agree to the change.
Both teams are proceeding under the assumption that the game will be played as scheduled, but its no where near as certain as games normally are.
Andy_Wooldridge@yahoo.com
(Connor Pelton also contributed to this story.)