‘Insane’ college football game stuns broadcasters as chaotic two-hour delay causes severe limitations

SMU’s matchup against Florida State on Monday night descended into chaos before the players even stepped onto the field.

Minutes before the scheduled 7:30pm kickoff time, the lights at the Doak Campbell Stadium suddenly went out.

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The game was delayed for more than 100 minutes, with the cause later being identified as an electrical issue with the main transformer.

Officials determined there was enough light to go ahead, and the new kickoff time was scheduled for 9:15pm, however, there would still be several limitations.

There was no coach-to-player communication system, no sideline iPads, no functioning scoreboard and no public address announcer.

ACC Huddle crew baffled at decision to play

30 minutes before kickoff, ESPN’s ‘ACC Huddle’ crew expressed their concern over the lack of lighting and technology limitations.

“This is insane, this is crazy,” analyst Eric Mac Lain said.

“Do you know what gets me, is the no helmet to helmet communication, those guys haven’t been signalling,” Jimbo Fisher added.

“Ashton Daniels, the biggest game of his life, Mike Norvell is fighting his tail off to make Florida State relevant again, opening game, that communication is so vital.

“You gotta remember something, you got people’s lives, careers and jobs on the line here. I love the fans, they will show up tomorrow.”

Once the game got underway, SMU proved why they entered the season ranked No.19 in the country.

Quarterback Kevin Jennings threw for a career high 430 yards and three touchdowns as they defeated Florida State 27-24.

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Pressure mounts on Mike Norvell as fans boo

Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell entered the 2026 campaign on the hottest seat in the country, and it’s just gotten hotter.

Trailing 17-10 at halftime, a pre-recorded video of Norvell was met with fierce boos from the crowd.

During the second half, the crowd was alternating between the tomahawk chop and boos towards their head coach.

“We got to go make plays in the passing game when opportunities present themselves,” Norvell said after the defeat.

“Didn’t do a good job protecting with that throughout, some inconsistencies there that we got to clean up.

“We got to get that corrected. … We had our opportunities. It’s a shame to come up a field goal short.”

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Monday’s defeat marked Florida State’s 14th ACC loss since the start of the 2024 season.

Norvell’s buyout being north of $50 million makes him one of the ten most expensive coaches in the country to fire.

That means things would have to go from bad to worse for Florida State to consider firing him.