A nationwide flight ground stop is throwing Saturday’s college football travel plans into chaos, with Ole Miss and Florida Atlantic among the teams caught in the mess.
Ole Miss, scheduled to face Oklahoma at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, had not been able to leave as of Friday afternoon because of the flight restrictions.
CBS Sports reporter Chase Parham said Rebels players were told to go home after being stuck on the tarmac, and later reported that Ole Miss would try to fly out Friday night. He also noted the possibility that the game could be moved to Sunday.
“Ole Miss players told to go home and report back at 7 pm. Scuttlebutt is the Rebels will fly out tonight or game could get pushed to Sunday.”
Parham added that the SEC had not, at that point, offered any option to play the game outside the scheduled time.
“Worth noting the SEC, as of now, hasn’t given any option to play the game outside of the scheduled time.”
He also pointed back to the 2021 snowstorm, when Ole Miss was told it would be a forfeit if basketball didn’t get to the game site on time, though he noted football creates a much bigger logistical challenge.
If the game were pushed back, it would be Oklahoma’s first Sunday football game since 2019, when the Sooners played Houston.
Oklahoma State’s home game against Texas Tech, meanwhile, stayed on track. CBS Sports reporter Brandon Marcello said Texas Tech arrived in Stillwater before the ground stop, and the matchup remained scheduled as planned.
Tulsa’s home game against Florida Atlantic was also affected. The Golden Hurricane are set to host the Owls at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, but Florida Atlantic had not departed for Oklahoma as of Friday afternoon. The team was stranded on buses at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
The situation was still fluid, and the full impact on Saturday’s games remained unclear.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel said several other team flights were in limbo as well, including Baylor, Kansas State, Utah, Arizona State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas.
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