Clemson-NC State game still on ‘as of this point’ despite Hurricane Ian weather
Clemson continues to monitor Hurricane Ian weather concerns heading into Saturday night’s home football game against N.C. State but had no changes to report as of Tuesday morning.
“Our administration does remain engaged with campus safety personnel and we are keeping an eye on the weather,” team spokesperson Ross Taylor said ahead of coach Dabo Swinney’s weekly Tuesday news conference. “As of this point, so 11:04 a.m. on Tuesday, there are no changes to report in that respect.”
Clemson’s update came about an hour after South Carolina announced it was moving its home football game against in-state HBCU S.C. State from Saturday to Thursday. The game will now kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday from Williams-Brice Stadium.
The No. 5 Tigers are scheduled to host the No. 10 Wolfpack at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Memorial Stadium. ABC will broadcast the much-hyped matchup between top 10 ACC opponents.
The state of South Carolina “continues to have the potential for tropical storm force winds (39-73 mph) across the state on Thursday night and has the potential to see impacts such as gusty winds and heavy rainfall through Friday,” according to a Clemson university release. “The severity of the impacts is dependent on the track of the storm.”
According to Tuesday morning projections from the National Weather Service Forecast Office Greenville-Spartanburg, Ian is projected to affect the Upstate on Friday into the weekend. The “main impact” will be heavy rainfall in western South Carolina, western North Carolina and northeast Georgia.
Swinney said Tuesday he has “no idea” what the weather will look like.
“Sounds like it’s going to be wet, but it’s going to be wet for both sides,” he said. “We’ll have to find a way.”
Clemson has semi-recent history playing in a hurricane, as the then-No. 12 Tigers beat then-No. 6 Notre Dame in 2015 amid Hurricane Joaquin. N.C. State also hosted and beat Notre Dame in 2016 amid Hurricane Matthew.
What about ESPN College GameDay?
Inclement weather could also affect ESPN’s “College GameDay,” the beloved pregame show that’s scheduled to broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon on Clemson’s campus on Saturday.
On Monday, an ESPN spokesperson told The State it was monitoring Hurricane Ian just like Clemson but was yet to change any plans for the “College GameDay” broadcast.
“Regarding the weather this week, we will be actively monitoring the storm but are planning for a normal ‘GameDay’ experience,” the spokesperson, Julie McKay, said. “Public safety is always our primary concern so if anything changes, we will be prepared to adjust accordingly.”
