The college football game between Alabama and Georgia is likely going to be played as scheduled. The new forecast for Hurricane Isaias has shifted much further to the east with a much faster pace.
That is a good thing for Tuscaloosa.
The weather is probably going to allow for the Bulldogs to play the Crimson Tide on Saturday night. There no longer seems to be a need to move the college football game to another day or to different location.
The college football game between Georgia and Alabama was (and still is) at risk.
One of the biggest games of the season is scheduled to be played on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. The No. 2-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are set to face the No. 6-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 6:30 p.m. CT.
There has been a lot of chatter about the potential playing conditions in recent days. Rumors began to swirl at the end of the weekend. They became more legitimate on Tuesday when ABC chief meteorologist James Spann raised his concerns to AL.com.
“The idea of moving the game, it’s on the table. I’m saying it’s clearly on the table. It would be a nightmare for everybody involved. But if we do get a Category 1, Category 2 hurricane coming right up Mobile Bay Saturday morning, I don’t know if you wouldn’t be playing that game in Tuscaloosa that you’ve got the chance of winds gusting to 50 miles an hour, torrential rain and the chance of isolated tornadoes on top of everything else.”
The Tuesday afternoon forecast called for a 90% chance of rain in Tuscaloosa at kickoff. Tropical storm Isaias was expected to strengthen into a hurricane before it makes landfall near Gulf Shores and continue straight north through the state of Alabama.
As a result, the administrations at the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama are working together with the SEC to determine whether or not the game can be played. It could be moved to Sunday, like Georgia-South Carolina in 2016 and Florida-Eastern Washington in 2022, or it could be moved to an alternate location.
“Like we do every week at this time, we’re keeping an eye on forecasts and staying in communication with schools with games that could be impacted by weather,” said the Southeastern Conference.
Contingency plans are in place. A final decision will be announced by Thursday at the latest.
The most recent forecast for Hurricane Isaias shifted east.
The meltdown on Tuesday evening might’ve been premature. Spann even said that it was too early in the week to tell whether the weather would have a direct impact on Tuscaloosa. The forecast on Wednesday morning provides a better picture.
Tropical Storm Isaias is located in the southwestern Gulf just off the eastern coast of Mexico. It has winds of 40 mph and it is expected to strengthen into an official hurricane on Thursday, then rapidly strengthen to a Category 2 (at least) by Friday evening with winds up to 110 mph.
The storm is now expected to drift toward the east before it pulls northward toward the Gulf Coast. Isaias could make landfall anywhere from east Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle by late Friday or early Saturday. Here is the latest GRAF run:
Here is your updated GRAF run this morning. #tropicalstorm https://t.co/TLl24JzwN8
— Christian Etheridge (@CEtheridgeWX) October 7, 2026
Here is a look at the eastward shift:
Alabama is still going to see rain as the Hurricane swings north. The heaviest rain will hit Mobile and Baldwin counties through parts of West-Central Alabama. West Alabama will not be hit as hard as initially thought. There is also a chance that a faster-moving system could push the rain out of Tuscaloosa prior to kickoff.
Don’t get me wrong. This is the weather. Things can change in a matter of minutes. Nobody really knows anything until it happens.
Rain is probably going to fall during the top-10 college football matchup between Alabama and Georgia and it could be a very wet day in Tuscaloosa. Kickoff could even be moved up or back by an hour or two. However, the latest forecast seems to eliminate any need for the game to be postponed or moved. Bring a poncho!