FSU vs SMU Blackout Chaos: Power Out at Doak Campbell Stadium — Game Delayed Over 2 Hours

A Labor Day showdown between Florida State and No. 19 SMU descended into chaos Monday night when a transformer failure plunged Doak Campbell Stadium into darkness minutes before kickoff. The game was delayed nearly two hours as fans held up cellphone flashlights, officials scrambled for a "Hail Mary" fix, and coaches agreed to play under primitive conditions — no scoreboard, no coach-to-player communication, and no public address system.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The final game of college football's opening weekend turned into a surreal scene Monday night when a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium delayed the Florida State-SMU matchup for nearly two hours . The outage, caused by an electrical short in the main transformer on the west side of the stadium, struck just minutes before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff .

The timing could hardly have been worse. Players from both teams had already run out of their respective tunnels and were on their sidelines when the lights went dark. The countdown clock on the Jumbotron froze at 7:30 p.m. . The sound systems, floodlights, and press box all went dark . The issue was not weather-related, though thunderstorms had been in the forecast . A statement on the stadium's video board confirmed: "Technical staff are addressing a power disruption to the west side tower due to an electrical short in the main transformer" .

A Stadium in the Dark: 'Hail Mary' and Cellphone Flashlights

Initial attempts to reset the transformer failed . ESPN sideline reporter Taylor McGregor described the backup plan as a "Hail Mary" — one last option to repair the lights, with a slim chance of playing that night if it didn't work . Fans, refusing to let the delay dampen their spirits, held up cellphone flashlights, did the wave, and knocked around beach balls. The Florida State band played in one end zone, and the crowd bellowed the War Chant . Students waved their shirts and chanted in the darkness as they waited for answers .

Florida State coach Mike Norvell and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee met at midfield and agreed to send their teams back to the locker rooms around 7:45 p.m. to wait out the delay . Lashlee, visibly frustrated, told reporters he was "disgusted" with the delay but joked: "We waited long enough to play, what's another 30 minutes?" .

A Primitive Return to the Gridiron

At 9 p.m., more than an hour and a half after the scheduled kickoff, the teams returned for warmups. The game officially kicked off at 9:15 p.m. . But the return to play came with significant caveats :

• No public address announcer

Not all stadium lights were operating . Coach-to-player communication was not restored until approximately halfway through the second quarter, and clock functions and yardage distances were back on the scoreboard at around the same time .

The game was a critical ACC opener for both teams. Florida State entered with a 1-0 record after defeating New Mexico State 34-17 in Week 0, while No. 19 SMU was opening its season on the road, looking to make a run at the ACC Championship Game .

This story has been updated with game completion details.