A Federal Aviation Administration ground stop that halted flights nationwide for several hours Friday threw college football travel into chaos on the eve of Saturday's slate. Most teams fly out the day before games, and the disruption forced conferences to delay kickoffs and approve alternate travel methods.
The most significant change came in the SEC, where No. 19 Ole Miss could not depart Starkville, Mississippi, in time for its game at Oklahoma. The contest was moved to Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, conflicting with early NFL windows. Sooners athletic director Roger Denny objected strongly, stating the league informed Oklahoma that failure to play Sunday would result in a forfeit. "We were told that Ole Miss explored every avenue to travel to Norman and play on Saturday as planned. But, unlike every other team traveling for competition (Saturday), they were unable to find a solution," Denny posted on X. He called the decision "isn't fair to our athletes" or fans but said the Sooners had "no other choice."
Elsewhere, No. 2 Utah's game at No. 22 Arizona was pushed back three hours to a 10:30 p.m. Eastern start, while Baylor's trip to No. 12 BYU was delayed 3 1/2 hours to a 7 p.m. Eastern kickoff. The Big 12 moved Arizona State-UCF back three hours to 5:30 p.m. Eastern. No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Tennessee faced late departures for games at LSU and Texas A&M, respectively, meaning less sleep than usual.
Some programs turned to ground travel. Auburn took a bus to Mississippi State, with the SEC pushing the start back more than four hours. Purdue also bused from West Lafayette, Indiana, to Iowa. UNLV avoided the disruption entirely, flying out of Las Vegas Friday night for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff at No. 23 New Mexico.
Sources: 8 News Now
Original reporting: 8 News Now →
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