Moving Sugar Bowl time due to truck attack won’t affect Ole Miss in Gator Bowl

OXFORD, Miss. — The tragic events in New Orleans early Wednesday morning will impact decisions and events across the globe, including the College Football Playoff.

As of late Wednesday evening, the death toll was at 15 following a truck attack in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Even more were injured in the event that is being investigated by local, state and federal authorities. Those events resulted in the College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame and Georgia to be rescheduled from Wednesday night to Thursday at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

That rescheduling will also impact the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl between Ole Miss and Duke, but in a dark, beneficial way. The Rebels and Blue Devils will face-off in Jacksonville, Fla. following the Notre Dame-Georgia playoff game.

TV viewership proves having a strong lead-in on anything improves the number of people watching, especially if it’s a competitive game. If the Notre Dame-Georgia playoff game is competitive, that could benefit Ole Miss and Duke.

The decision to postpone the game came after the Superdome underwent a security sweep after two improvised explosive devices were found at the scene of the attack in the French Quarter district. Jason Williams, the district attorney of Orleans Parish, which includes New Orleans, told ABC News that investigators were conducting a grid search to determine whether other explosive devices were planted.

Some credentialed Superdome employees were permitted into offices by Wednesday afternoon.

The attack, which also injured more than 30 people, occurred around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday in New Orleans’ bustling French Quarter district, known worldwide as one of the largest destinations for New Year’s Eve parties. The driver of the vehicle was killed in a firefight with police following the attack, the FBI said, adding that it was heading an investigation “with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism.”

The vehicle rammed into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, and after it came to a stop, the driver — identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas — emerged from the truck and opened fire on responding officers, New Orleans police said. Officers returned fire, striking and killing Jabbar, police said.

Information from ESPN and other media reports are included in this story.