By: Nate Murphy (@bigmurph23)
While driving home in the snow and wind and extreme cold I had a thought. I started thinking about the extreme weather that we are seeing across the country. Then I started to think about how our league was unique from most of the real-life leagues out there, especially college football. College football comes to a close tonight (Jan. 20th) and the CFSL will be going strong deep into February. So our college athletes are potentially exposed to some things that we don’t see often in real life. Think of the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers in the Ice Bowl. So then I got to thinking…well, what does the weather look like this week? How extreme could it get?
I did a bit of research and here is what I found. And remember, this is from a quick look online at the weather channel. This is not a guarantee of what we will see in this week’s games. It is merely a look at what is possible.
Tuesday Night
For the first time in quite a while, we have four games on Tuesday night. Our 6:30 games show both the good and the ugly.
The game in Miami between the Hurricanes and the Trojans is by far the best weather for the week. Miami is set to see beautiful clear to partly cloudy skies and a beautiful 71 degrees. That is a stark contrast to the game that will be going on in South Bend Indiana at the same time.
Notre Dame and Oregon are going to have to deal with windy conditions. Worse than just the moderate winds is the fact that it is going to be cold with a capital C-O-L-D! Temperatures at kickoff will be hovering around a balmy -5 degrees.
The two late games, one in Auburn, AL the other in Clemson, South Carolina will both see temps around the upper 20s. But it looks as if there will be more wind to deal with in Clemson. Either way that is going to make throwing the football and special teams a little bit more of an adventure.
Wednesday Night
Wednesday night we will see a little bit of everything, at least in terms of temps, during our four games. We kick things off in Austin, Texas, and Lexington, Kentucky respectively. Two places that I don’t think of as having similar weather this time of year. But as of now, it looks like both cities will be staring up at overcast skies and dealing with some moderate winds.
In Lexington Wildcat fans will need to dress in layers and bundle up with some extra blankets as temperatures look to be settling in in the upper teens to low 20s. Austin won’t be quite as cold, but Texas natives may think they have traveled to Alaska for this game. Expect temperatures to be in the low to mid-30s. On the plus side, it looks like there will be no precipitation of any kind…for now.
As we head to the 8:30 games and the sun goes down so do the temperatures. In Blacksburg, temperatures will be around 10 degrees. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear that they will have to deal with heavy winds. The cold will make this game challenging enough.
Chapel Hil, North Carolina is the site of the other late game on Wednesday night. They will have some of the better weather of the week. Temperatures will be in the upper 30s to low 40s at kickoff. There will be a light breeze and a few clouds in the sky. But otherwise, it should be a darn near perfect night for football.
Thursday Night
Thursday kicks off in the Midwest, East Lansing, Michigan to be more exact, we will see temperatures much warmer than the game in Notre Dame on Tuesday. Boy, what a difference a couple of days makes. It will still be frigid though with temperatures in the low to mid 20s. Oh, and the wind, the wind will make it feel even colder and make kickers feel like they are kicking, and quarterbacks like they are throwing a brick.
Also in the 6:30 time slot Tuscaloosa, Alabama plays host to the Crimson Tide and the Tigers. This game (at the time of the research and writing of the article) is the one game with a decent chance to see some sort of precipitation. With the thermometer holding in the mid-40s, there could be some rain coming down while the points are going up.
Knoxville and Boulder are the sites for the final two games of Week 3. Both areas look like they will see temperatures in the 20s. Rocky Top looks to be a little less windy than the Rocky Mountains. But ground games should rule the nightcaps, so how much of a factor will the weather play? You’re going to have to watch and see.
So there you have it, the good (Miami), the bad (Chapel Hill and Tuscaloosa), and the ugly (everywhere else) when it comes to the week three weather forecast in the CFSL. game planning can be twofold this time of year. Can you out-scheme your opponent while dealing with the, sometimes extreme, elements? Good luck, stay warm, and stay dry, and I’ll C-U-L-A-T-E-R.
