All summer, college football's narrative around the LSU Tigers has been stuck firmly in a courtroom. On Saturday, fans were looking forward to the focus finally turning to the actual football on the field. That is, until a lightning delay put the season opener against the Clemson Tigers on ice.
With kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT, indications suggested a lengthy delay because of the weather in the area of Tiger Stadium.
Clemson vs. LSU lightning delay: Official start time set for 8:40 p.m.
UPDATE: LSU announced that the game will kickoff at 8:40 p.m. CT. Presumably, that means the lightning is close to clearing and warmups will be able to begin soon.
LSU-Clemson will kick off at 8:40 p.m. on ABC
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) September 6, 2026
It's believed to be the latest start time in program history 😈 pic.twitter.com/KrVma6FFll
According to LSU, that will be the latest start in LSU history.
Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports reported that LSU expects "at least a 90-minute delay" because of the multiple lightning cells nearby.
LSU staff reporting at least a 90-minute delay in kickoff, with a massive downpour now at Tiger Stadium and multiple lightning cells in the area. The Lane Kiffin Era will start a little later than expected.
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) September 5, 2026
NCAA rules require games to be delayed a mandatory 30 minutes after each lightning strike within 10 miles of the stadium. Each new strike resets that clock.
If it were just heavy rain, the teams could play through it. However, with lightning nearby, the safety of players, staff and fans has to take precedence.
We'll keep up to date with all the news out of Death Valley. This article will be updated as LSU supplies more information.
When the game does get underway, we'll see No. 14 LSU try to get the Kiffin era off to a good start. They're favored by 10 points over Clemson. Swinney may be a national title winner, but it's been a long time since he had the Tigers firing on all cylinders. An upset in the opener would go a long way towards proving he's still got it.
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