What Hurricane Irma could mean for the Gamecocks this week

The preparation for Hurricane Irma’s arrival has already forced the cancellation or changes for several college football games.

The state of South Carolina on Wednesday declared a state of emergency as forecasts project the storm to eventually reach the Palmetto State, but it’s not expected to impact the Gamecocks football team’s travel this week. Will Muschamp said he has not talked contingency plans for this weekend’s trip to Missouri.

“We don’t feel like the travel should be affected. I talked to coach (Ray) Tanner this morning,” Muschamp said. “They’re working on that now. I’m working on the game plan for Missouri.”

The storm isn’t expected to reach South Carolina until as early as Sunday night or into Monday, by which point the team would already be home. The Gamecocks play Kentucky at home Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

Irma could make landfall in South Carolina as a category 3 or 4 hurricane, according to forecasters in National Weather Service in Columbia.

USC has seen a pair of games moved the past two years as a result of hurricanes. The massive flooding in 2015 forced a home game to be moved to LSU. A year ago, Hurricane Matthew delayed a home game against Georgia a day.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 1:33 PM.