SMU beats Florida State after nearly 2-hour delay due to power outage
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —
The game between No. 19 SMU and Florida State kicked off after a delay of nearly two hours on Monday night due to a power outage at the stadium.
Power went out at Doak Campbell Stadium just minutes before the scheduled kickoff and the delay lasted about 1 hour, 45 minutes. The Seminoles and Mustangs finally took the field at 9 p.m. EDT for warmups and the game started at 9:15 p.m. under less than ideal conditions.
Kevin Jennings shook off a pair of interceptions to lead No. 19 SMU’s winning scoring drive, capped by Nick Reed’s 20-yard field goal with 21 seconds to play, to wrap up a 27-24 win on Monday night.
Jennings completed 26 of 36 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns as SMU (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) outlasted Florida State in a game that was delayed nearly two hours due to a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Jennings had a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Cooper and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Randy Pittman, a Florida State transfer, to help the Mustangs rack up 585 offensive yards.
Ousmane Kromah had 22 carries for 116 yards, including a 54-yarder and a 7-yard touchdown to lead Florida State. Kromah has back-to-back 100-yard games to begin his sophomore season.
Noah Lantor
Florida State’s scoreboard shows a delay message due to a blackout before an NCAA college football game against SMU, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, in Tallahassee, Fla.
Not all the stadium lights were operating and the teams were forced to deal with a number of other issues, including no coach-to-player communication, no iPads on the sidelines, no public address announcer and no scoreboard.
There was no public game clock and on-field officials were keeping track of the time. Some replays were being shown on the Jumbotron.
A statement on the Jumbotron inside the stadium during the delay 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’s 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.
