CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson has played plenty of night games over the years. What the Tigers have experienced to open the 2026 season is something altogether different.
For the second consecutive week, lightning pushed Clemson’s kickoff to 9:30 p.m. ET.
Prior to this season, Clemson’s two most recent games to kick off at 9:30 p.m. or later in its home time zone were both played on the other side of the world — in Tokyo.
Clemson faced Wake Forest in Japan in 1982 in a game that kicked off at 11 p.m. ET. Nine years later, the Tigers played Duke in Tokyo with a 9:30 p.m. ET start.
Now Clemson has matched that 9:30 threshold twice in eight days.
Saturday’s home opener against Georgia Southern was delayed one hour and 56 minutes from its originally scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff because of lightning. The game finally began at 9:30 p.m., a start time Clemson said is believed to be the latest on record for a home game in program history.
The Tigers eventually defeated Georgia Southern, 22-7, in a game that stretched deep into the night at Memorial Stadium.
It was an almost immediate replay of Clemson’s season opener in terms of timeline. In Baton Rouge, lightning delayed Clemson’s game at LSU by roughly two hours. That game also eventually kicked off at 9:31 p.m. ET.
And the Tigers aren't finished with late nights.
Following Saturday’s noon home game against North Carolina, Clemson heads west for a Friday night matchup at Cal on Sept. 25. Kickoff in Berkeley is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. locally. That 10:30 p.m. ET start time is going to be rough!
That means three of Clemson’s first four games this season will have kicked off at 9:30 p.m. ET or later.
The first two required Mother Nature’s cooperation or lack thereof. The third is already on the schedule.
For a Clemson program that previously had to travel to Tokyo for its two most recent games in that late of a window, the opening month of 2026 has produced a decidedly unusual schedule.
Almost as unusual as the product we’ve watched on the field the first two games.
At least this week, Clemson can plan on an earlier alarm clock, and fans can get to bed at a reasonable hour.
The Tigers and Tar Heels are scheduled to kick off at noon ET Saturday in Death Valley.
If we have another late night, it will be an all-time delay.
— Swanny
