With bowl eligibility potentially at stake for both schools later in the season, officials at Nebraska and Iowa State said Sunday they’ll work to find new opponents to fill out their schedules after their openers were canceled because of severe weather.

Nebraska and Iowa State were among several teams across the nation that contended with weather problems Saturday on the first full weekend of college football. The Akron-Nebraska and South Dakota State-Iowa State games were called off shortly after they started, and other games had lengthy delays.

A team needs to win six games to assure itself of bowl eligibility. Nebraska went 4-8 last season and hopes to rebound under new coach Scott Frost. Deputy athletic director Bob Burton said Nebraska would begin looking immediately for an opponent, whether it be from the Bowl Subdivision or second-tier Championship Subdivision. The Cornhuskers have an open date Oct. 27.

Players were pulled off the field at Memorial Stadium immediately after the opening kickoff because of lightning in the Lincoln area. The game was called off after a 2-hour, 40-minute delay. Athletic director Bill Moos had discussions with Akron about resuming the game Sunday at 10:30 a.m., but the Zips balked.

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard, who was unavailable for an interview, wrote in a letter to fans Sunday the Cyclones are trying to find an opponent to play either on its October open date or on Dec. 1 if, at that time, it needs another win to achieve bowl eligibility. The Cyclones were 8-5 last season and have high hopes for this year.
Iowa State’s game against South Dakota State was canceled shortly after it started because of storms in the Ames area. Pollard wrote there was no serious consideration given to playing the game Sunday because it would have required finding lodging for SDSU late Saturday night, thrown off preparations for the teams’ games this week, and the Sunday forecast called for more stormy weather.

South Dakota State is unavailable during Iowa State’s Oct. 20 open date and hopes to be participating in the FCS playoffs on Dec. 1, which also is the same date as the Big 12 championship game. ISU officials said South Dakota received its payout of $425,000. If the Cyclones achieve six wins by November, he said, a 12th regular-season game wouldn’t be needed.

Nebraska Athletic director Bill Moos in his statement, said, “Regarding any potential additions or adjustments to the 2018 football schedule, we will explore and discuss those options in the coming weeks. In the meantime, fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets from [Saturday night’s] game in the event a game were to be added later in the season.”