On Monday, September 1, 2008, Hurricane Gustav made landfall 72 miles southwest of New Orleans. As a result of the strong winds, heavy rain and flooding, several Louisiana football programs have been affected.  Here are the latest updates:

• Tulane at Alabama – The Tulane Green Wave play their season opener at Alabama on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT. They left New Orleans on Saturday and will practice in Birmingham all week.

• Troy at LSU – The LSU Tigers rode out the storm in Baton Rouge and hope to host Troy on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. CT start. If the game is postponed, the game could be moved to Nov. 15. Troy and LSU both have an open date that weekend (UPDATE 09/04/08 – The game has been postponed and will be played on Nov. 15, 2008).

• SE Louisiana at Mississippi State – The Southeastern Louisiana Lions are using the practice facilities at Ole Miss. They play the Bulldogs in Starkville on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. CT.

• Nicholls State at New Mexico State – Due to Gustav, Nicholls State canceled their Thursday, September 4 game at New Mexico State. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.

• Buccaneers at Saints – Back in 2005, Hurricane Katrina forced the New Orleans Saints out of the Superdome for 8 months. This time the Saints probably won’t have to wait that long. All indications are that the City of New Orleans hasn’t been hit that hard. The Saints should be able to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT.