Keeping an eye on Hurricane Matthew

Submitted by Phil Brickma on

The latest NOAA update (11 a.m. ET) says Hurricane Matthew is churning north faster than previously predicted, with the bulk of the storm expected to sit off the New Jersey coast by Sunday morning.  My fairly uninformed guess would assume we should expect heavy winds and rain Saturday night ahead of the storm. 

Wouldn't it make sense for player and fan safety for Rutgers to move the game to an earlier kick to get ahead of the storm as early as possible? Local forecasts haven't been adjusted yet, but if NOAA still expects it to hold hurricane-force winds on Sunday, it isn't something I would screw around with.

Link to NOAA

Yo_Blue

October 4th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^

That's what Maryland did last year when a hurricane sat off the Atlantic coast.  It resulted in a 1/3 full stadium, 60% of which was Michigan fans.  It was a beautiful thing (other than the cold driving rain).

Jeff09

October 4th, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^

That's kind of my point. I'm a fan of Michigan so I can't possibly watch those games. I will faithfully watch Michigan and miss all the competitive / impactful games. Why can't this be at noon during the other probable blowouts so we can have both?

MaizeJacket

October 4th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^

I'm a fan of college football as a whole just as much or maybe even more than my own teams.  For people like me, attending games like Michigan-Rutgers or GT-GA Southern can be viewed as an inconvenience depending on when those games start and when the other interesting games of the day start.

Wolverine Devotee

October 4th, 2016 at 12:22 PM ^

Michigan-Hawaii = not night game worthy

Michigan-Wisconsin = night game worthy

Wouldn't have had a problem if last game was a night game. It was an amazing atmosphere even at 3:30.

Jeff09

October 4th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^

Perhaps my original post was ill-phrased. I am going to watch Michigan. I never miss Michigan. Ideally I'd like it so that lopsided games between Michigan and other teams (e.g. Rutgers) were played in non-prime time time slots so I can watch both Michigan and the prime time matchups. That's all I meant. Seems I've upset quite a few posters with my comment, which, geez, sorry guys. Can I still be a Michigan fan please?

2427_Couzens

October 4th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^

How about watching the game on ESPN2 on your TV and stream other games on a device or computer via the ESPN app?  I've been known to have multiple games on in my living room that way.  It's the 21st century way of doing what my dad did by setting up the little TV next to the big one!

cutter

October 4th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^

Last year's game at Maryland was supposed to be played at night, but it was moved up to noon because of predictions for exceptionally inclement weather.

I can't see any reason why Rutgers and the Big Ten can't follow that precedent.  RU is planning a big "red and black" evening, but Maryland was planning on something similar last year and the Big Ten still opted to play the game early in the day because of the possibility of major storms in the area.

blueinbeantown

October 4th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^

Based on the number of tix available on secondary market, going to be more likely to be a Maize and Blue night, similar to UConn a couple years ago.  Watch the weather, this could be something very nasty to the entire East Coast.

James Gandolfini is a Rutgers alum!  Wonder how Tony would be adjusting the line based on the weather???