Brian Kelly said LSU is preparing for rough conditions against Auburn due to Hurricane Ian
As the west coast of Florida hunkers down in preparation for what could be devastating effects of Hurricane Ian, college football programs around the region are monitoring the situation.
That includes Tigers coach Brian Kelly, who discussed how the team is preparing for potential bad weather in Saturday’s contest on the road against Auburn.
“No doubt. We’ve talked about a gameplan in terms of what it might look like, hopefully that’s going to pass through,” Kelly said. “We’re going to get probably some rain of some kind and that’ll be our first time in that kind of element. It’s a grass situation, so you put those plans together relative to what that would look like if, in fact, we did get hit with some severe rain.”
The current track shows the hurricane staying well away from eastern Alabama, but that doesn’t mean the game couldn’t be impacted by the outer bands. Per the 10 p.m. CT rainfall potential update from the National Hurricane Center, Auburn could be set to receive up to four inches of rain.
Kelly may be new to coaching in the south, but he’s dealt with the impacts of hurricanes before, most notably against Clemson in 2015 and NC State the following year while he was at Notre Dame.
“I’ve been in two remnants of hurricanes, one at North Carolina State, which was abysmal and I think the other was at Clemson,” Kelly said. “They affect the game conditions, and so you have to plan accordingly in terms of your passing game, running game. Kicking game is affected dramatically. Field position, tactically how you call a game. You just have to wrap your head around it prior to and prepare for it. And then, quite frankly, you have to react accordingly during the game.
“I’m not making too much of it. I’m not going to put too much on our players. Our players just need to play, and as coaches we’ll adapt accordingly during the game.”
LSU’s Week 5 contest should go on as planned, but it will likely be in less pristine conditions than the team has faced to this point.
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