The long-awaited LSU-Clemson kickoff has been pushed back by weather, with heavy rain and lightning rolling through the Baton Rouge area on Saturday night.
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin was set to make his debut in a 7:49 p.m. ET game against Clemson, but the storm has thrown that plan off track.
Kiffin had already arrived at Tiger Stadium around 6 p.m. ET, making his entrance before the delay took hold.
Massive thunderstorms have moved into Baton Rouge, bringing a downpour and lightning within an 8-mile radius of Tiger Stadium. Several outlets reported that the start has been delayed indefinitely, with more storms expected over the next two hours. The Greenville News reported that the public address announcer at Tiger Stadium told the crowd the kickoff would move “later than expected.”
Under NCAA weather guidelines, teams are usually asked to wait until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike is recorded within the designated area, typically 8 to 10 miles, before play can begin or resume.
The weather delay adds another twist to a chaotic week for a Lane Kiffin-coached team. Earlier, after LSU petitioned to add former NFL players to its roster, the SEC sued LSU and Kiffin in federal court, saying the move was illegal and created “a competitive imbalance.”
LSU later received an injunction from a federal judge on Thursday to add a fifth year of eligibility for a tight end and defensive lineman who played for Kiffin at Mississippi last season but had signed NFL contracts.
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College GameDay Took A Strange Turn Before LSU Clemson Even Kicked Off
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When the show came back, it did so from inside an empty theater, a sharp contrast to the packed scene fans expected from one of college footballs biggest opening weekends. The interruption and relocation quickly became part of the conversation around the day, a strange little pregame wrinkle that stood out almost as much as the matchup itself. [Read more 🡒]