The season opener between the Florida State Seminoles and the SMU Mustangs was set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, but a sudden power failure pushed the start time back nearly two hours, to 9:15 p.m., before the teams finally took the field under severely limited conditions.
Power Outage Stalls Season Opener
The outage stemmed from an electrical short in the main transformer at Doak Campbell Stadium, which plunged the venue into darkness and caused the stadium’s countdown clock to freeze at 7:30 p.m., effectively halting all scheduled activities.
With the lights out, the stadium operated without full illumination, public address speakers, referee microphones, sideline iPads, coach‑to‑player helmet communications, or a functioning scoreboard, forcing players and officials to rely on the limited on‑field lighting and manual timekeeping.
Despite the constraints, Florida State punter encouraged the crowd to cheer, and the university’s band filled one end zone with music, while fans participated in the wave and tossed beach balls to maintain energy during the suspension.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips convened a meeting with the athletic directors from both Florida State and SMU to evaluate possible remedies, but the game could not be resumed and was ultimately postponed due to the prolonged power disruption.