North Carolina vs. Minnesota game time delayed over severe weather

A fear of severe weather has forced Minnesota to push back its Week 1 game kickoff against North Carolina on Thursday night.

Severe weather has pushed back the kickoff time for the North Carolina vs. Minnesota college football game on Thursday night. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Week 1 college football game between North Carolina and Minnesota has been pushed back one hour and will now kick off at 9 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Central over severe weather fears in the Twin Cities area, the school announced.

The game will be televised nationally on the Fox network.

Minnesota elected to move the time of Thursday night's football game after consulting with the National Weather Service, the Big Ten Conference, and city partners.

The latest forecast suggests that potentially severe weather will move into the Twin Cities early on Thursday evening and would have affected the start of the game.

Fans in the area have been encouraged to take necessary precautions amid the severe weather threat and those who are on campus have been invited to take shelter inside the Williams Arena or the 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The premium gates at Minnesota's football stadium will open at 5 p.m. local time and the gates for the general public will open at 6:30 p.m. local time, the school said.

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