Could Hurricane Ian affect Clemson-NC State game or College GameDay? What we know

Clemson is closely monitoring the potential impact of Hurricane Ian on Saturday night’s home football game against N.C. State, the school said Monday.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s “College GameDay” program is planning for a normal broadcast from Clemson’s campus on Saturday morning but will “be prepared to adjust accordingly” based on forecasts, a representative said.

The remnants of Hurricane Ian are expected to reach Upstate South Carolina late Friday into Saturday morning and could bring windy conditions and heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service, though as of Monday morning “there is still uncertainty in the track and timing of this system.”

As of now, Clemson and N.C. State are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night from Memorial Stadium, with College GameDay broadcasting from campus earlier Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

“Clemson Athletics is engaged in consistent dialogue with our university campus safety personnel (for) each game week, and we’ll continue to be in regular communication should the outlook worsen,” a department spokesperson, Jeff Kallin, told The State.

“Regarding the weather this week, we will be actively monitoring the storm but are planning for a normal GameDay experience,” ESPN spokesperson Julie McKay told The State. “Public safety is always our primary concern so if anything changes, we will be prepared to adjust accordingly.”

The most current forecasts on Weather.com project a 67% chance of rain in Clemson on Friday, a 90% chance on Saturday morning with 10 to 20 mph winds and a 70% chance on Saturday night with 5 to 10 mph winds.

Hurricane Ian is expected to grow in intensity as it moves through the Gulf of Mexico, with the latest landfall projection at early Friday morning along the western coast of Florida. Some parts of the Carolinas will at least see tropical storm force winds (39-74 mph) from Ian, according to the forecast.

Numerous high school football games across the Upstate, the Midlands and other parts of South Carolina have already been moved to either Wednesday or Thursday because of the weather forecast for the state Friday.

Clemson has semi-recent experience 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 USC football?

South Carolina football hosts in-state HBCU S.C. State on Saturday at noon at Williams-Brice Stadium. Coach Shane Beamer said Sunday that he hadn’t had any discussions with school administrators about the storm.

Saturday’s Columbia weather forecast, for now, is partly sunny with a 60% chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

The State’s Lou Bezjak contributed reporting to this story.