Ball State waited a long time to play Miami. And on Saturday, the Cardinals had to keep waiting.
Lightning in the area delayed the start of the game between the 10th-ranked Hurricanes and the Cardinals, two programs that were set to play for the first time. The game kicked off at 5:55 p.m., or nearly 2 1/2 hours later than originally planned.
The first delay was called shortly after 3 p.m., about a half-hour before the scheduled 3:30 p.m. kickoff. Teams were told they could take the field for warmups around 4:10 p.m. — just as pouring rain began to fall at the stadium.
And around 4:30 p.m., more lightning was detected in the area, starting yet another delay. By rule, the lightning being within 8 miles started another mandatory pushback of at least 30 more minutes. That also meant all fans who had already found their way to their …