Tulane, Rutgers, To Open Season As Scheduled

The Rutgers-Tulane football game will be played Saturday night as scheduled, only days after Isaac swept across the New Orleans area with hurricane force winds.

The decision to play, made Thursday morning, comes after the Superdome survived the storm with only superficial damage to surrounding signs, banners and landscaping. Superdome chief Doug Thornton has said the stadium never lost power and its roof never leaked. He says key Superdome personnel are returning to work Thursday to get the stadium ready to host college football.

Although the dome was in good shape Wednesday night, Tulane officials waited on a final decision to play until they could evaluate the condition of the community and confirm whether the airport would be ready for Rutgers' charter flight on Friday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)