photo by: Henry Greenstein/Journal-World

The game between Kansas and West Virginia enters a weather delay on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Morgantown, W.Va.

Morgantown, W.Va. — As Kansas and West Virginia entered the home stretch of a hotly contested Big 12 opener on Saturday, Mother Nature intervened.

With KU leading 21-17 and 10 minutes and 43 seconds remaining in the game, the public-address announcer at Milan Puskar Stadium declared a severe weather delay at 2:46 p.m. Eastern Time, one minute after a visible lightning strike in the vicinity of the stadium.

KU and WVU personnel retreated to the locker rooms, while fans evacuated the venue.

By 2:53 p.m., stadium officials were projecting a full 90 minutes of lightning, with participants unable to return to the field until 30 minutes after the final strike.

The delay coincided with an interesting moment in the game. Referees had just announced that they planned to review an attempt at a one-handed catch by KU tight end Trevor Kardell on third-and-2 — even though KU had already taken a delay-of-game penalty, after the play was ruled an incompletion, to make it fourth-and-7.

The officials ended up announcing in the opening minutes of the delay that the ruling on the field would stand after the game resumed.

KU previously experienced a 58-minute weather delay in what became a victory over Oklahoma in Lawrence on Oct. 28, 2023.

This story will be updated.