College Football Poll, Three 1-A Games Moved Or Canceled Due To Katrina

Three 1-A Games Moved Or Canceled Due To Katrina
8/31/05 12:20am edt
by Mike Mitchell

The massive damage spawned by Hurricane Katrina has, as expected, forced the cancelation or postponement of three games involving 1-A teams.

Tulane, which is located in New Orleans, was scheduled to kick-off the season on Sunday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi against Southern Miss. The two teams will now end their seasons against each other on November 26.

This Saturday's LSU season-opener in Baton Rouge has been postponed indefinitely. The Tigers do not share a common off-day with their opponent, North Texas, until December 3. That's the date of the SEC Championship game. A make-up date is expected to be announced soon.

Also canceled, and not to be made up, is Saturday's season-opener in far-away Utah between Utah State and 1-AA Nicholls State. Nicholls State is located about 60 miles west-southwest of New Orleans.

With rising flood waters in New Orleans causing a protracted closing of the Tulane campus, a complete pall has been cast over the Green Wave football season. Tulane was tabbed as the CCR Top 119's preseason favorite to win the west division of CUSA and a buzz of excitement was surrounding the team. Their next game is scheduled for September 17 against Mississippi State in the Louisiana Superdome, a facility that was structurally damaged by Hurricane Katrina's winds and sits in the midst of the catstrophic destruction in downtown New Orleans.

It's the second consecutive year that hurricanes have effected the Tulane and Southern Miss schedules. Last year, Ivan forced the postponement of Southern Miss' game with California and Tulane's tussle with Louisville.