Florida State and No. 19 SMU kicked off at 9:15 p.m. ET at Doak Campbell Stadium following a nearly two-hour power outage that forced both programs to play under severely restricted conditions.
As teams prepared to take the field, ESPN reported that the game would proceed despite significant operational limitations. According to Yahoo Sports, the two programs kicked off without full stadium lights, working public address speakers, referee microphones, sideline iPads, coach-to-player helmet communications, or functioning scoreboards.
ESPN’s official broadcast displayed a graphic confirming the following:
- Official time will be kept on the field
- Not all lights are operational
- No replay review
- No helmet communications
Officials said that the Seminoles (1-0) and Mustangs (0-0) were to take the field at 9 p.m. for warmups with a 9:15 p.m. ET kickoff, almost two hours after the scheduled 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
A statement on the Jumbotron inside Doak Campbell Stadium at 8:30 p.m. read: “Technical staff are addressing a power disruption to the west side tower due to an electrical short in the main transformer. Electricians are working to restore the power service. The game remains suspended. Update to follow.”
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips chatted with athletic directors from both schools, SMU’s Damon Evans and Florida State’s Michael Alford, for a few minutes on the field before administrators moved inside to further discuss options.
The highly anticipated finale on Labor Day to the weekend’s first full slate of games was put on hold as a countdown clock inside the stadium stopped at 7:30 p.m. and the stadium lights went out.
Florida State and SMU had run out of their respective tunnels and onto their sidelines just moments before the game officially entered a delay. The Seminoles and Mustangs remained on their sidelines before eventually being sent back to their locker rooms.
A few specialists from both teams returned to the field to warm up. Florida State punter encouraged the fans to stand up and cheer, and the school’s band played in one end zone. Fans did the wave and knocked around beach balls.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
