Vanderbilt vs Georgia Tech in weather delay in Birmingham Bowl

On By Littum

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Vanderbilt football’s Birmingham Bowl game against Georgia Tech entered a weather delay Friday due to lightning shortly after 5:30 p.m. CT with 7:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Commodores ahead 35-13.

Subject to further lightning strikes, play will resume at 6:30 p.m., according to an announcement from the bowl.

According to the NCAA’s inclement weather policy, fans must evacuate the stands and play cannot resume until 30 minutes after the last blackout within eight miles of Protective Stadium. A message on the video board said the game has not been canceled at this time.

Diego Pavia has accounted for five touchdowns for the Commodores (6-6), threw for three scores and run for two.

Georgia Tech (7-5) will have the ball at Vanderbilt’s 24-yard line when play resumes. The Commodores (6-6) scored 21 unanswered points after Yellow jackets kicked a field goal to make it 14-13 early in the third quarter.

The Commodores last had a weather delay in a football game in their 2023 game against Wake Forest, which had a two-hour lightning delay.

No estimated recovery time was immediately available. The weather at the Protective Stadium was a constant rain for large parts of the competition.

DIEGO PAVIA Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia turns the football over in the stands and draws penalties in the Birmingham Bowl

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.