Three Delays, Midnight Madness, and the Strangest Game Kinnick Has Ever Seen

Published on May 30th, 2025 8:25 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


On September 17, 2022, Iowa hosted Nevada at Kinnick Stadium in what was supposed to be a forgettable late-night non-conference matchup. Instead, fans got one of the longest, strangest, and most drawn-out games in modern college football history. It ended at 1:39 a.m. Central Time, but the timeline doesn't do the chaos justice.

Everything seemed normal - until it wasn't. With just under five minutes left in the second quarter, lightning was detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium. That triggered an automatic weather delay, as per NCAA policy. Fans were asked to clear the stands. Players were sent back to their locker rooms. At first, nobody thought much of it. Delays like this are annoying but not uncommon. Most figured it would blow over quickly.

It didn't.

One lightning delay became two. Then three. In total, the delays stretched more than three and a half hours. Some fans went home. Others left and came back. Many didn't leave at all. And that's where things got weird.

By the second delay, a small crowd was settling in for the long haul - literally. People brought folding chairs from their cars. Blankets appeared in the stands. Security, normally strict about re-entry and outside food, turned a blind eye. Fans were seen hauling in giant bags of popcorn and fast food. One group played cards on the concourse. Another was spotted watching a different game on a portable projector.

The vibe was less "college football" and more "overnight lock-in." And somehow, the players kept warming up, cooling down, and warming up again. They never left. Iowa's defense stayed locked in the whole time. Nevada, on the other hand, looked like a team trying to remember what sport they played.

By the third lightning delay, it was well past midnight. Kinnick was half-empty, then one-third full, then nearly silent. You could hear conversations from rows away. No band. No noise. Just scattered cheers and confused commentary from fans and broadcasters alike.

And then, football resumed.

Iowa, which had been roasted all season for its offensive struggles, put together a competent - maybe even encouraging - performance. Spencer Petras threw his first touchdown pass of the season. The running game found a rhythm. The defense, as usual, dominated. The Hawkeyes won 27-0, and it wasn't close.

But nobody was talking about the scoreboard.

They were talking about the guy who brought a full lawn chair into Section 113. The family that left after the first delay and came back two hours later with pizza. The student who curled up and napped across three bleachers during the third quarter.

This wasn't just the longest game in Iowa football history. It was a survival test. A bizarre mix of weather, bureaucracy, and Big Ten grit. It was also one of the rare times a football game genuinely felt like a fever dream - hours of waiting, brief bursts of action, and the creeping sense that maybe none of this was supposed to happen.

When it ended, just after 1:30 a.m., the stadium emptied in silence. No music. No celebrations. Just a few hundred exhausted fans walking into the night, unsure whether to laugh or sleep.