At least five are dead so far as Hurricane Harvey has completely submerged much of the city of Houston. While that is obviously the most pressing issue on authorities’ minds in Space City, there are football matters that need attending. Rice is in a holding pattern in Los Angeles, Houston has vacated the city for Austin and the Texans are camped out in Dallas.
Meanwhile, BYU and No. 13 LSU are scheduled to play at the Texans’ NRG Stadium just six short days from today.
According to SB Nation, officials from both schools are in talks to move the game from Houston to New Orleans’s Mercedes-Benz Superdome. From the report:Officials from both schools will meet with ESPN on Sunday to discuss moving the game away from Houston’s NRG Stadium. Two potential relocation sites are LSU’s Tiger Stadium or New Orleans’ Mercedes-Benz Superdome. A source told SB Nation both schools are committed to playing the game Saturday in a different city. BYU does not allow its athletic teams to play on Sundays, per university policy in accordance with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
The AdvoCare game is owned by a subsidiary of ESPN, meaning the network will have the final decision on relocation, with input from the schools.
While it may be logistically possible to play the game as scheduled come Saturday, there is the ethical question of whether it’s proper to send thousands of Tigers and Cougars fans to a city not equipped for tourists at the moment while also requiring the use of first responders -- police officers for traffic control, ambulances at the ready in case of injury -- when they are quite obviously needed elsewhere for the time being.
This is the third straight season LSU has dealt with a weather-related logistical crisis. The Tigers’ 2015 opener with McNeese State was canceled due to inclement weather, and its 2016 Florida game was famously delayed and moved to Baton Rouge due to Hurricane Matthew, canceling a scheduled game with South Alabama in the process.