The official suspension announcement came at 9:55 p.m., 2 hours, 41 minutes after kickoff and 2:40 after the official delay began.
All through the afternoon, anticipation grew. Temperatures reaching the mid-90s and high humidity could hardly stifle the buzz about town in the run-up to coach Scott Frost's debut as the head coach here. But the potential for rain and thunderstorms began showing up in advanced forecasts days before kickoff and became increasingly likely to interrupt game play as the Saturday forecast came into focus.
The first bolt visible from West Stadium dropped south of downtown moments after 7 p.