LIGHTS OUT IN TALLAHASSEE — FSU FORCED TO PLAY 1920s FOOTBALL
There is no more effective way of creating a perfect visual metaphor for the present state of Florida State football than the person who blew up the transformer at Doak Campbell Stadium on Monday night.
A catastrophic electrical short occurred just minutes before the highly anticipated 7:30 p.m. kickoff versus No. 19 SMU, causing the entire west-side tower to lose power. The lights went out, the countdown clock stopped, and the Seminoles were literally left in the dark. It was a complete failure of the electrical grid on national television—a circumstance, ironically, that proved to be excellent preparation for how the offense would perform when the game actually began.
Analog Football in the Dark Age
Following nearly two hours of urgent meetings in the dark, the referees decided that the show should go on. However, when the teams finally kicked off at 9:15 p.m., they weren't playing modern college football; instead, they were playing a rough, 1920s-style analog version of the game.
Since the stadium was relying on life support, there were no iPads available on the sidelines, no communication system from coaches to players through the helmets, and no public address system as well. The on-field officials actually had to keep track of the time themselves, and replay reviews were entirely halted. Both Mike Norvell, who is the head coach of FSU, and Rhett Lashlee, the head coach of SMU, were forced to call their plays in the traditional way. The fans in the stands had no idea how much time was left in the quarter and therefore had to struggle to read the referees' hand signals as if they were trying to work out Morse code in the dark.
The Standby Entertainment
As the technical team were working desperately to repair the grid, the crowd in Tallahassee had to amuse themselves. Seeing that the stadium was only half-lit, the FSU fans simply accepted the complete absurdity of the situation. A number of the fans took off their shirts and waved them above their heads like rally towels in the dark, and the beach balls bounced about carelessly in the sections.
The Actually-Played Game
As soon as the ball was snapped, the disorderly and fragmented nature of the evening determined the atmosphere. For Florida State, quarterback Ashton Daniels had to depend greatly on the ground game in order to create a steady rhythm since he didn't have the usual sideline adjustments. The only positive point for the Seminoles' offence was running back Ousmane Kromah, who continuously rushed the ball and gained 116 yards from 22 carries; he broke away for a huge 54-yard run and scored a 7-yard touchdown and seemed to be the only FSU player not affected by the blackout.
Daniels added an 8-yard rushing touchdown to end a 14-play, 75-yard attack in the first quarter and threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Singleton Jr. He also managed to get sophomore wide receiver Jayvan Boggs from Cocoa High, who broke through the defensive confusion to catch a decent 25-yard reception. For the game he had a modest total of 125 yards through the air (12 of 23).
Yet even though FSU was focusing on the run, SMU's quarterback Kevin Jennings managed to turn the half-lit field into his personal highlight reel. Although he had neither headsets nor iPads to study the defensive schemes, Jennings devastated the Seminoles' defence by throwing for an incredible 430 yards and three touchdowns on 26 out of 36 pass attempts. He threw some spectacular passes, including one to Jalen Cooper for a 50-yard touchdown and another to Yannick Smith for a blazing 79-yard score. Former FSU transfer Randy Pittman Jr. also got a touch of the action by catching a 10-yard touchdown against his former team. SMU gained a total of 585 yards offensively—the highest total ever achieved against an ACC opponent—as Jennings skillfully broke down a defence that had no modern tools available to counter him.
The Seminoles eventually suffered a strange, half-lit fever dream-like situation, losing 27 to 24. Nevertheless, honestly, the final score is of no real importance when compared with the fact that a top-tier college football program was obliged to play its ACC opener using nothing more than the technological equivalent of two tin cans and a string.
Perhaps they'll put some hand-crank generators on the sidelines next week.
Cody Queen is the lead columnist for the Queen Media Sports Report, bringing you the hard hitting facts, the deep dives, and the unapologetic truth about the teams you love. Queen Media Sports Report is brought to you by Backwater Royalty.
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