Alabama Football: Ole Miss game delay and weather advantage for Lane Kiffin

Hoping for better weather conditions, Alabama football will play Ole Miss later on Saturday to the benefit of Lane Kiffin.

There is a new plan for Alabama football on Saturday in Oxford, MS. The game has been pushed back from a 5:00 PM CST kickoff to 6:30 PM CST instead. Lane Kiffin defined the new announced time with an ‘about’ modifier indicating weather conditions will be monitored throughout the day and the game might start even later.

The latest Saturday weather forecast for Oxford shows 100 percent chance of rain Saturday and Saturday night, with periods of heavy rain. The good news is predicted wind speeds are not expected to top 15 miles per hour on Saturday night.

Both teams want to play on Saturday. Using an available open date to reschedule, means one less Saturday a game might later be moved to because of COVID quarantines. For Alabama football, using an available open date on Nov. 7 is undesirable. That is the annual open date before the LSU game. LSU is open on that date as well. The Bengal Tigers being off while the Crimson Tide played Ole Miss would affect competitive balance.

Hurrying up and playing Friday night disrupts the schedules of both teams. Playing on Sunday would be even worse for Alabama football, taking away one day of preparation for Georgia. So, if at all possible the game will be Saturday night in Oxford.

Safety is always a factor. Nick Saban said,

"From a weather standpoint, I think the worst of the weather will be through there by game time, so I don’t think any players will be in danger. It will be raining probably, and it’ll probably rain most of the day."

Saban has had his Alabama football team preparing for rain. The Crimson Tide has worked with wet footballs during practices. Saban said wet footballs were all that could be done since he can’t make it rain during practice. You have to think a couple of young staffers have already jumped on the ‘rain-making’ challenge for the next time preparations are needed for wet conditions. A yet to be developed use of water cannons may be in the Alabama football facilities’ future.

Though wet conditions and wind will affect both teams, there is an advantage for Lane Kiffin. Not a better chance to pull off an upset, but a plausible excuse for why his offense may be less explosive than normal. An excuse for losing is the closest Lane will get to a win on Saturday night in Oxford.

Check out these other ways the weather could impact the game. Nick Saban will go to 21-0 against former assistants on Saturday.