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Power outage delays Florida State-SMU kickoff 2 hours

9/9/2026

10 1 Full Breakdown

Summary

McGregor Leads Broadcast

Taylor McGregor, ESPN reporter, led the broadcast after a power outage halted the Florida State-SMU game.
The outage began before the 7:29 p.m. EST kickoff at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Generators on the ninth floor restored partial lights, letting coaches deem the field playable.
Kickoff finally occurred at 9:15 p.m., after about a two-hour delay and without Wi-Fi, iPads, PA, radios, clocks or replay.

Summary

Farrill Blames Transformer

Deputy chief Cody Farrill said the outage came from a stadium transformer short, not the city grid.
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said fan and player safety was priority as officials evaluated power.
Officials considered postponing to Tuesday or swapping with a later FCS contest as backup.
The ACC replay center in Charlotte stayed functional, allowing limited video reviews despite the blackout.

History

Historical Context

During September 2005 a transformer fire at Giants Stadium cut power for roughly 30 minutes, halting the Giants-Jets matchup. Subsequent outages, such as the 2010 Giants-Cowboys delay, spurred the NFL and venue operators to add redundant generators, a safeguard built into the new MetLife Stadium opened in 2010 and that kept the 2024 Florida State-SMU game running despite a blackout.

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McGregor Leads Broadcast

Taylor McGregor, ESPN reporter, led the broadcast after a power outage halted the Florida State-SMU game.
The outage began before the 7:29 p.m. EST kickoff at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Generators on the ninth floor restored partial lights, letting coaches deem the field playable.
Kickoff finally occurred at 9:15 p.m., after about a two-hour delay and without Wi-Fi, iPads, PA, radios, clocks or replay.

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