Hurricane Isaias: College Football Games That Could Be Affected by Storm

Hurricane Isaias has already rewritten part of the Week 6 college football schedule, moving a homecoming game to Friday, canceling West Florida's home game in Pensacola and putting No. 2 Georgia at No. 6 Alabama on watch.

Isaias strengthened into the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 Wednesday night and carried 80 mph sustained winds Thursday morning. A hurricane warning covers the coast from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Florida's Bay-Gulf county line, with landfall expected late Friday or early Saturday.

Georgia at Alabama kickoff status

Hurricane Isaias: College Football Games That Could Be Affected by Storm — Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Keelon Russell (12) gives direction before the snap | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The top-10 SEC matchup between two 5-0 teams is still set for 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium on ABC. ESPN's College GameDay is in Tuscaloosa, and President Donald Trump is planning to attend.

Alabama enters off a 56-23 win at Mississippi State, while Georgia beat Vanderbilt 38-14 at home. The school updated the game's status Wednesday night and said it remains in contact with the National Weather Service, the SEC office and Georgia.

"Alabama athletics continues to closely monitor the weather forecast ahead of Saturday's football game, with the safety and well-being of the student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans as our highest priority," the school said.

The forecast shifted in the Crimson Tide's favor as the storm sped up. ABC 33/40 chief meteorologist James Spann now expects the worst wind and rain in Tuscaloosa Saturday morning into early afternoon, hours before kickoff.

"The weather looks favorable for Saturday night's Alabama/Georgia game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa," Spann wrote Thursday morning.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said alternate kickoff times had been discussed.

"As far as I've heard, there were some options on different kick times on Saturday as they looked at the different weather models but it sounds like the storm is moving fast and rapidly and it could be out before kickoff," Smart said.

Why did FAMU-Alabama State move?

Florida A&M at Alabama State moved from Saturday to Friday at noon ET in Montgomery, with the broadcast shifting from HBCU Go to SWAC TV. The Southwestern Athletic Conference made the change because Isaias is expected to hit the Alabama Gulf region and the inland areas around it.

The game is Alabama State's homecoming, and the university also rescheduled its other homecoming events planned from Friday through Sunday.

"Out of an abundance of caution and in the interest of public safety, Alabama State University has adjusted its Homecoming schedule due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Isaias," the school said.

West Florida cancels Northeastern State game

West Florida called off Saturday's home game against Northeastern State. Athletics and university leadership made the decision Wednesday afternoon, citing the safety of the campus and the Pensacola community, which sits inside the hurricane warning area.

What changed for Southern-Prairie View?

The SWAC also moved Southern at Prairie View A&M back one hour to 4 p.m. ET Saturday, with HBCU Go carrying the game. The conference said more football schedule changes are possible as the storm approaches.

Bethune-Cookman at Alabama A&M unchanged

Alabama A&M Athletics said it doesn't plan to move Saturday evening's Louis Crews Classic against Bethune-Cookman in Huntsville. Forecasts call for 1 to 3 inches of rain across North and East Alabama as the storm moves inland.

Which other games could see rain?

Several Saturday games across the Southeast have no announced changes but fall inside the storm's broader rain shield. Forecasters expect 3 to 6 inches of rain for most areas over the weekend, with up to 10 inches in spots and flash flooding possible across much of the Southeast. Florida and Alabama are both under states of emergency.

South Carolina at Florida: 12:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network, Gainesville
Samford at Chattanooga: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+, Chattanooga
Duke at Georgia Tech: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, Atlanta
James Madison at Georgia Southern: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU, Statesboro

None of those four schools had announced a time or date change as of Thursday morning.

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