Florida State SMU game delayed

Florida State’s game against No. 19 SMU was delayed for nearly two hours on Monday night after a power outage hit Doak Campbell Stadium just before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoff in Tallahassee, Florida. The outage stopped the stadium countdown clock at 7:30 p.m. and sent teams back to their locker rooms while officials and stadium staff worked to restore service. The game ultimately kicked off at 9:15 p.m. EDT, according to the Associated Press. Not all stadium systems were fully restored when play began. ### How long was the delay, and when did the game actually start? The delay lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes, the Associated Press reported. Florida State and SMU returned to the field for warmups at 9 p.m. EDT before kickoff 15 minutes later. ESPN reported earlier in the evening that the game was in a delay because of a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium. (wral.com) The outage came minutes before the start of the Labor Day matchup. ### What failed inside Doak Campbell Stadium? A message shown on the stadium Jumbotron said technical staff were addressing “a power disruption to the west side tower” caused by “an electrical short in the main transformer,” according to the Associated Press. (wral.com) The same message said electricians were working to restore power service. (espn.com) The Associated Press said the outage affected more than the stadium lights. When the game finally started, teams were operating without coach-to-player communication, without iPads on the sidelines, without a public-address announcer and without a working scoreboard. ### What happened on the field while power was out? (wral.com) Florida State and SMU had already run out of their tunnels and reached their sidelines when the outage hit, the Associated Press reported. Players initially remained on the field before being sent back to the locker rooms as administrators discussed options. (wral.com) During the delay, some specialists from both teams returned to warm up. The Associated Press reported that Florida State’s punter urged fans to cheer, the school band played in one end zone, and fans did the wave and batted beach balls around the stadium while they waited. (wral.com) ### Which officials were involved in the response? ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips spoke on the field with SMU athletic director Damon Evans and Florida State athletic director Michael Alford during the stoppage, according to the Associated Press. The report said administrators later moved inside to continue discussing next steps. (wral.com) ESPN and other live updates described the issue as a stadium power outage, while local and national reports said the disruption came shortly before kickoff. Public details available Monday night centered on the transformer problem cited on the in-stadium message board. (wral.com) ### What conditions did the teams face once play resumed? At 9:15 p.m. EDT, SMU and Florida State kicked off under what the Associated Press called “less than ideal conditions.” The report said not all stadium lights were operating when the game began. Monday’s game was the Labor Day finale to the first full weekend of the college football season, and the next immediate milestone was the continuation of the game itself under partial stadium operations in Tallahassee. (wral.com)