College football has been played under the lights for quite some time. That wasn't the case for the entirety of Thursday's game between Temple and East Carolina. With 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, Temple quarterback Anthony Russo hit wide receiver Jadan Blue for a short gain and as Blue was going to the ground, the lights at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium went completely out.
Out like a light.. like a light #TNFonESPN pic.twitter.com/JX2iCt8B8s
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 4, 2019
No one was really sure what was going on and a 15-minute delay followed until the stadium lights started again. According to Yahoo Sports, there was a power outage in the area.
Fans had some very interesting ways to pass the time as one was seen in the crowd dancing and waving the flashlight on his cell phone as if he were at a concert. In addition, the Pirates mascot put cheerleading cones on his head and was unsure of what to do to pass the time.
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) October 4, 2019
Temple wasn't able to put any points on the board on that drive once power was restored to the stadium. However, the Owls did come away with a 27-17 win over the Pirates.
But even after the lights came back on, the insanity wasn't finished quite yet.
In the final seconds, Temple's Chapelle Russell returned a fumble for a touchdown that would've given them an even more convincing victory, but why was that really important? Well, the betting line for the game was Temple -12 and the Owls would've covered that spread with this scoop-and-score.
However, the officials ruled that East Carolina's forward progress was stopped before the ball was ripped out. ESPN's announcing crew certainly realized the gambling ramifications of the play, as it was referred to on the broadcast as "very impactful" in the midst of all the hollering.
It's one of the worst beats that has been seen in quite some time and is worsened because the referees could've called the game during the outage: it had reached the mandatory 55-minute mark and would've been an official game.