Kentucky home opener vs. Southern Miss reportedly delayed due to weather
Kentucky football, scheduled to begin the season at 7:45 p.m. EST, will have to wait a little bit, according to KSR’s Matt Jones. Due to incoming inclement weather, the kickoff for the game has been pushed back to 8:30, Jones said.
An official announcement for a delay has yet to be made. However, a post from the Kentucky football account shorty after 7 p.m. EST alluded to a weather delay.
“We are still in a weather delay but, the Cats are here,” the post said with four pictures of Kentucky players arriving at the stadium.
Thee game against Southern Miss was delayed a number of hours due to lightning and thunderstorms after finally beginning shortly after 8:30. But officials officially announced the teams would retake the field at 9:40 PM EST. The updated planned kickoff time was set for 10:05 PM EST.
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But even after resuming following the second delay, things would not continue without more interruptions.
The game was ultimately suspended and Kentucky made the winner
Saturday night’s Kentucky and Southern Miss game had to deal with several different delays due to lightning and thunderstorms. There were a number of different delays, but ultimately play began and continued without interruption until the third quarter.
But with weather being problematic yet again, there was another lightning delay with 9:56 remaining in the third quarter. That delay lasted a few minutes before officials came together, officially called the game, and ruled play suspended.
Kentucky was up 31-0 at that point in the game, and the Wildcats were officially ruled the winner, according to Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio. The game will be officially counted as a victory and all stats and records will count for Saturday night.
Because the game was into the third quarter and the Wildcats held a commanding lead, NCAA rules readily allow for the suspended game to be declared a Kentucky victory. So while it was an abridged contest, it’s a win nonetheless for the Wildcats.
“By mutual agreement of the participating institutions as permitted by NCAA rules, tonight’s game between Kentucky and Southern Mississippi has been terminated and is considered a complete game with a final score of 31-0 in favor of Kentucky. All statistics in the game are considered final and complete,” an SEC statement said.