Approximately four minutes and 40 seconds before kickoff between Florida State University and SMU, the power went out on the west side of Doak Campbell Stadium. The power remained off or partially off for one hour and 45 minutes before generators created enough light to play the game.
According to ESPN, for a majority of the game, the teams played without Wifi, which meant no sideline iPads and no helmet-to-helmet communication.
"We're just going to play old-school football," SMU athletic director Damon Evans said.
In the early moments of the power outage, Florida State officials added a message to the video board: “Game Delayed – Power Outage.” There was very little guidance for several minutes as student-athletes on the field, coaches, and fans in the stands waited to see what would happen in the unprecedented circumstances.
Eventually, an electrical issue that originated with a short circuit in the busway, which caused a surge of electrical current through the system stressing the transformer and causing it to fail, was identified as the culprit. Crews worked to fix the equipment and restore power.
As the time crept on, leaders from both FSU and SMU debated suspending the game and rescheduling. They brainstormed contingency plans, including the possibility of the two teams playing later in the season.
“There wasn't friction one time during any of the communication that we had, and we really needed to also listen and be led by the agencies that were involved in this," ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said. "The question kept coming up: Will it be safe? Will it be safe for the fans? Will it be safe for the players? And unequivocally, the answer was yes. We had to wait to see if they could get some of the wiring necessary to get power."
When the game kicked off, the head official kept time on the field — as the scoreboard time clock was not functional — with each team being assigned an official to keep the coaches aware of how much time remained on the clock. The teams used walkie-talkies for booth-to-field communication.
"We prepare for situations like that," Ashton Daniels, FSU quarterback, said. "I think we had a good plan."
