FSU-SMU game turns into old-school football after stadium power outage wipes out in-game communication
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What happened
On Monday night at Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, a power surge knocked out stadium lights around 7:29 p.m. ET, minutes before the scheduled 7:39 p.m. kickoff of the ACC game between Florida State and SMU, and both teams were sent back to the locker rooms. Officials from both schools and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips met repeatedly during a delay of nearly two hours. At about 8:45 p.m. they decided to play without helmet-to-helmet communication, sideline iPads, or full coordinator-to-coach links; the game started around 9:15 p.m. in a partially lit stadium with the clock kept on the field. SMU won 27-24.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 3 articles
2 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It started with unnamed sources; a named source appeared 2 hours later.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 2 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Fox News, Bleacher Report, Rhett Lashlee and ESPN
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 1 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this. Here: e.g. “sources told OutKick”
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 8, 01:33 UTC by Fox News, with no named source. First named source 2 hours later, from Breitbart.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT.
Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported the Florida State-SMU power outage at all. Right-leaning coverage says a surge blacked out Doak Campbell Stadium as the teams took the field, then both schools chose to play without helmet comms or sideline iPads. School officials and the ACC commissioner met repeatedly before agreeing to start. Fox News and the New York Post disagree on what still worked, and only the Post gives the final score. A reader of left-leaning outlets would miss the long delay, the partial lighting, and that coaches had not practiced without player communication in years.
Right-leaning coverage also splits on tone. Fox News calls the choice to play a "massive gamble", while the New York Post leads with chaos after power failed and never fully returned.
What caused the power surge at Doak Campbell Stadium?
Bottom line
Left-leaning outlets have not mentioned it, but the New York Post reported that SMU beat Florida State 27-24 after both teams played through a stadium blackout with no coach-to-player communication.
The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
- After a power outage at Doak Campbell Stadium, Florida State and SMU played without coach-to-player communication and without sideline iPads
- SMU defeated Florida State 27-24
- The game started at 9:15 p.m.
- Around 30 people including the ACC commissioner and both schools' athletic directors and presidents met on whether to play
- SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said his team had not practiced without coach-to-player communication in two years
- There was no PA announcer and no scoreboard during the game
The Right View
Fox News, Breitbart, and the New York Post reported a chaotic pre-kickoff outage, a long delay, and a decision to play without modern in-game electronics rather than postpone. They described meetings involving school presidents, athletic directors, and the ACC commissioner; officials practicing hand signals with coaches; no PA announcer or scoreboard in some accounts; and SMU coach Rhett Lashlee saying his team had not practiced without coach-to-player communication in more than two years. Coverage framed the night as unusually old-school, a scheduling gamble given SMU’s upcoming game, and a wild scene for fans who stayed through the delay.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive: it involves named actors, a specific stadium, dated times, and multiple outlets describing the same sequence, including the communications restrictions and SMU’s 27-24 win. Established facts are the outage, the delay, the choice to play without those systems, and the result; the technical cause of the surge is not documented in these reports. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for official statements from Florida State, SMU, or the ACC on the outage cause, any conference review of playing without standard communications, and broadcast or stadium records that corroborate timing and conditions.
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