Lightning causes chaos before Notre Dame’s showdown with USC

The Notre Dame football team is preparing for the biggest game of the year against the USC Trojans. The question that will continue well into the evening is whether kickoff will ever come.

There's been a lot of talk the last few days about what the weather might do on Saturday night. Now, just a few hours before the game, the weather has definitely arrived. Pouring rain is one thing. It's the lightning in the area that's already causing havoc with pre-game plans.

Lightning and weather delays threaten to disrupt Notre Dame’s clash with USC

Lightning being in the vicinity of Notre Dame stadium has caused officials to issue an alert as to where fans who might be out tailgating can take shelter should they need. The lightning also caused the Fighting Irish to cancel the player walk, Trumpets at the Dome, and the Band Concert on the Steps.

As of now, the hope is that the game will start when it is expected at 7:30, and it does look like there is a window where they can at least start things. An hour-by-hour forecast shows the rain and storms to stop around 7. However, they should return around 9 or 9:30.

Making things even more interesting is an announcement that while the gates at Notre Dame Stadium will open at 6 p.m., the lightning in the area prevents them from allowing fans in. As is the case with these kinds of rules, there must be 30 minutes without a single lightning strike before things can start to go back to normal.

While waiting to see what happens both later this evening and into the night, it's important to note that both Notre Dame and USC have a bye week on October 25. Should the game be postponed or suspended, they could pick things right back up next weekend. It seems unlikely either program would want to lose a game on their schedule, as both are looking at qualifying for the College Football Playoffs.