Is ESPN sideline reporter Taylor McGregor a college football game delay curse?

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The college football season is well underway, and Week 2 has already delivered plenty of developments. Big upsets, thrilling battles and, somehow, even more delays have kept fans entertained throughout the weekend.

After Florida State experienced a massive delay before kickoff Monday night against SMU, Oregon and Oklahoma State dealt with a delay of their own Saturday. While the two games were delayed for completely different reasons, they shared one interesting common denominator.

ESPN sideline reporter Taylor McGregor was on the sidelines for both games. McGregor has become a staple of ESPN’s college football coverage, earning praise from fans for her work throughout game day.

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However, after back-to-back weeks featuring delays with McGregor on the sidelines, some fans might be asking a ridiculous question: Is she a game-delay curse?

Taylor McGregor did an AMAZING job reporting on the power outage 👏 pic.twitter.com/oJcvb9BZrq— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) September 8, 2026

No such thing as a game-delay curse… right?

It’s as silly as it sounds, but let’s be honest about the die-hard sports fan. Most fans are at least a little superstitious and will find ways to connect events that probably have nothing to do with each other.

This isn’t to suggest McGregor somehow controls the winds of fate and causes college football games to be delayed. The circumstances behind these delays make that pretty clear.

Florida State’s game against SMU was delayed by an electrical outage that pushed kickoff back by nearly two hours. Oklahoma State’s delay Saturday was caused by lightning in the area, with officials delaying the game for safety reasons.

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Unless McGregor has somehow figured out how to interfere with electrical substations and control the weather, the curse theory can probably be put to rest.

Ultimately, McGregor is simply one of the best sideline reporters in the business. This is nothing more than a humorous coincidence. Delays are an unfortunate part of college football, particularly when weather or technical issues get involved.

Still, that won’t stop fans from having a little fun with the timing. If another game gets delayed while McGregor is working the sidelines next week, though, the conspiracy theories might begin to really make some noise.

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