Saturday night, the Akron Zips were to open their 2018 football season traveling to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers from the Big Ten in a nationally televised contest (FOX)
Just before kickoff, however, the game went into a weather delay at Memorial Stadium. It was a delay that lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes. Then at 9:55 CDT (10:55 EDT), NU Officials announced that the game was cancelled and no makeup date was announced.
The day began sunny, warm, and humid in Lincoln as the fans gathered in what would have been the 362nd consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.
Both teams had taken the field. However just before kickoff at 7:10 CDT the teams were told to return to their locker rooms and the game was in a weather delay as lightning was detected within an eight-mile span of the stadium.
About an hour later, the steady rain became a downpour. Many of the fans waited out the storm in the stadium concourses while others, donning pain ponchos, and other foul weather gear stayed in their seats.
At 9:10 p.m., school officials made an announcement for fans to clear the stadium and seek shelter in the nearby buildings on campus.
Discussion by school and conference officials followed, and 9:55, an announcement was made that the game had been cancelled.
For UA, last season in a game at Western Michigan they waited out an all day rain that flooded the field and the locker rooms, at Waldo Stadium. That game was played the next day, with the Zips defeating WMU for what was a key victory un route to the Eastern Division championship.
The Zips return home on Saturday to play their tenth opener inside InfoCision Stadium against Morgan State.
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