The FAA’s nationwide ground stop ended up spilling well beyond airports and into college football, with Oklahoma and Ole Miss pushed from Saturday to Sunday after travel issues scrambled the weekend schedule.
The game, which had been set for a 3:15 p.m. local time kickoff, will now be played Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The SEC said the television network for the matchup had not yet been determined.
In a statement, the league explained why Ole Miss could not make its original travel plan. “The Ole Miss football team was unable to depart Oxford Friday night due to the FAA ground stoppage. After the stoppage was lifted, a late-night departure could not be accommodated by the charter company with which Ole Miss was contracted and the team’s departure has been delayed until Saturday afternoon,” the SEC said.
Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny responded with a sharp objection to the move. He said the program did not agree to the switch and that the league office made the call anyway.
“After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner [Greg] Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection. … He further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit,” Denny said.
Denny added, “I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances. But those decisions must also consider the impact on everyone involved. Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution, or to Sooner Nation.”
He closed by making the school’s position clear: “We are obligated to play the game when directed. But we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening.”
The Sooners and Rebels will now play at the same time as multiple NFL games.
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The ripple effects from Friday nights FAA ground stop have already reached college footballs weekend slate, and Ole Miss is suddenly caught in the uncertainty. Auburn and Mississippi State saw their noon ET kickoff pushed back to 4:15 p.m. ET after travel problems forced Auburn to bus to the game, a reminder that even carefully planned conference weekends can get scrambled fast when flights are disrupted.
For Ole Miss, the concern is bigger than a delayed start. Reports that the Rebels did not fly to Oklahoma on Friday night have left the status of the trip hanging in the balance, turning what should have been a straightforward road game into a logistical question as much as a football one. For fans already looking ahead to the matchup, the timing and even the game itself now feel far less certain than they did just a day ago. [Read more 🡒]
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Ole Miss Just Got Hit With A Brutal Oklahoma Schedule Wrinkle
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Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny made clear he was not pleased with the decision, saying it came from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and that a failure to play on Sunday would mean a forfeit. For Ole Miss, the change adds another layer of uncertainty to a road test that was already going to demand quick adjustments, and now the Rebels have to reset their preparation around a new date and a new kickoff window. [Read more 🡒]