In the early ’70s, one of my favorite funny ladies, Vicki Lawrence, embarked on a reluctant, short-lived music career. That career included a number-one single, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.”
What happened in Tallahassee, Fla., on Labor Day wasn’t quite the same circumstances as Lawrence’s story-song chart-topper, but you could refer to Monday night as “the night the lights went out in Florida.” After a great, albeit long, Week 1 of college football season — I went 9-1 on my picks, so yay for me — the capstone of the weekend’s action was a prime-time game featuring Southern Methodist University playing at Doak Campbell Stadium against the Florida State University Seminoles.
The stage was set. Prime time. ESPN. A national audience. And suddenly, as the teams were getting ready to make their pregame entrances: no lights.
FSU continues to FSU
Doak Campbell Stadium has no power, SMU and FSU is delayed due to power outage pic.twitter.com/ePL7RG34HF
— gmannVOLS (@gmannVOLS) September 7, 2026
A power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium delayed kickoff between Florida State and SMU.
An update is expected at 8:20 pm, and teams will have a 10-minute warmup period before kicking off.pic.twitter.com/3hPqemO3fV
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 8, 2026
It all happened shortly before 7:30 CT, so it wasn’t pitch-black outside. The mental imagery of fans and players in total darkness is tempting but not true. A message on the video board read:
GAME DELAYED
WHEN THE GAME RESUMES, TIME AND PLAY CLOCK WILL BE KEPT ON THE FIELD BY GAME OFFICIALS.
THE FOLLOWING TECHNOLOGY WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE:
- PUBLIC ADDRESS ANNOUNCEMENTS
- IN GAME VIDEO REPLAY
- COACH TO PLAYER AUDIO
- VIDEOBOARD SHOW
The school blamed a transformer for the outage, and staffers had difficulty resetting it.
“Florida State officials would discover the electrical issue originated with a short circuit in the busway, which caused a sudden surge of electrical current through the system,” ESPN reported. “That surge placed significant stress on the transformer and ultimately caused it to fail. Once the problem was identified, crews worked to isolate the affected equipment, restore a safe and stable power supply, and allow the event to continue.”
Related: The SEC Has Found a Battle That ‘Just Means More,’ and Naturally It Involves Lane Kiffin
“Right now, we do have a power outage. Our teams are currently working on it, but it looks like a transformer might have blown,” Seminole Hospitality Floor Captain Amanda Lesly Miranda told the FSView. “We did get LEDs on for the stadium. That way the game can continue, but we are trying to actively work out the cause.”
“In the meantime, facing an extended delay, the teams retreated into the locker room while electricians and facilities experts worked to come up with a plan to — at the very least — power a majority of the lights so the game could be played,” ESPN continued.
While they waited, officials from both schools and the Atlantic Coast Conference discussed contingency plans. It didn’t take long for the school to get things back into some semblance of working order. ESPN explains:
But within an hour, they got good news: Florida State was able to set up four generators atop the ninth floor of the stadium and redistribute power from another area to get most of the lights turned on. However, that was all that could be powered. Wi-Fi was out, so neither team would be able to use iPads on the sideline. Helmet-to-helmet communication also went down with the outage, along with the video replay boards and game clocks.
Still, Florida State coach Mike Norvell and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee agreed they could do without. In their view, along with that of other administrators, there would be enough lighting to play the game.
Side note: Is it me, or does Rhett Lashlee sound like the name of a bro-country singer? That name sounds like a guy who would sing about “Gurl, get in my truck / We’ll drink beer in the mud” over a snap-track drum machine beat.
The game would go on. And fans kept the excitement going throughout the delay.
The power has been out at Doak for over an hour, but the @FSUFootball fans are still bringing the energy
(via @DustinLewisNG) pic.twitter.com/j2vy7tFxqm
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 8, 2026
Meanwhile, in-state rival Miami trolled the Seminoles:
Side note: “Our house” is kinda rich phrasing since the Hurricanes have played in the Miami Dolphins’ stadium for 18 years now. In other words, they’re throwing rocks from the Dolphins’ house.
In a weird way, the electrical issues at Doak Campbell serve as a metaphor for what has happened to the once mighty Florida State football program. Under head coach Mike Norvell, the lights keep going out, literally and figuratively. Aside from a 10-3 2021-2022 season and a stellar 13-1 run in 2022-2023, Norvell has been a bit of a bust. His overall record stands at 39-35 at the helm.
Contrast that record with his time as head coach at Memphis, where he went 38-15. Overall, he’s 77-50 as a head coach with a glaring 1-5 record in bowl games. That’s not going to cut it in Seminole country, and fans are restless.
What’s next for Norvell? We can count on one thing: His seat is getting hotter by the weekend.
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