No. 19 SMU held off Florida State 27-24 on Monday night in a Labor Day opener at Doak Campbell Stadium that was delayed nearly two hours by a stadium power outage. The outage knocked out lights, the scoreboard, coach-to-player headsets and the public address system just minutes before the scheduled kickoff, pushing the start to roughly 9:15 p.m. Eastern.
How the game played out
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings completed 26 of 36 passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns, directing the Mustangs on the decisive drive in the final minutes. Kicker Nick Reed converted a 20-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to put SMU ahead for good.
Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels finished 12 of 23 for 125 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Singleton Jr., but also threw two second-half interceptions that stalled Seminole scoring chances. Running back Lawrance Toafili contributed on the ground for Florida State as the team tried to build a lead late in regulation.
Coach’s response
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee credited Jennings for steadying the offense through the delay and the back-and-forth finish. “I thought Kevin played awesome,” Lashlee said after the game. “He was in control. Threw it for 430, he ran it when he needed to. He’s a player. Really proud of him. Proud of our guys for just finding a way to win.”
The power outage
Florida State officials said backup systems restored enough power for the game to proceed, though not all stadium lights were fully operational once play resumed and some in-game systems remained offline throughout. The delay pushed the final whistle past midnight.
The win extends SMU’s early-season momentum after an ACC debut season, while Florida State opened 2026 with a home loss to a ranked opponent for the second consecutive year against the Mustangs.
Sources: ESPN · Associated Press via WRAL · CBS Sports
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