Clemson’s season opener at LSU was pushed into a lightning delay Friday night at Tiger Stadium, with kickoff already slipping past the originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET start.
The delay hit less than an hour before the game was set to begin, and the weather had been building toward it. Storms rolled through the Baton Rouge area, bringing heavy rain and forcing the Clemson-No.
11 LSU matchup to wait. At 6:38 p.m.
ET/5:38 p.m. CT, the 90-minute pregame countdown clock at the stadium had not moved, and the rain was coming down hard.
Officially, the game was announced in delay status with the message that “Kickoff will be later than expected.” A stadium update also confirmed the clock was not moving.
Lightning delays in college football typically require teams to wait at least 30 minutes after the last recorded strike in the area before play can resume or begin. If another strike is detected within an 8-to-10-mile radius of the stadium, the 30-minute window resets. That can turn a short hold into a much longer night.
Forecast updates pointed to more trouble ahead, not less. Thunderstorms were expected to continue into the 8:00 p.m.
ET/7:00 p.m. CT hour before easing into mostly rain showers about an hour later.
ESPN’s Chris Fowler said during the telecast that the start could be pushed back by 90 minutes to two hours, which would place kickoff somewhere in the 9:00 p.m. ET to 9:30 p.m.
ET range.
With conditions still worsening as the evening went on, a late finish was suddenly in play for one of college football’s marquee Week 1 games.
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