Tennessee’s trip to College Station got thrown off course for a few hours Friday, but the Volunteers still appear set to make it to Texas in time for Saturday’s matchup with Texas A&M.
The holdup came after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop because of a communications issue affecting air traffic control centers. That left flights across the country grounded, including Tennessee’s planned departure from Knoxville. The Vols had been scheduled to leave earlier in the day, but they were unable to take off and eventually returned to campus while officials waited for word on when travel could resume.
For a stretch, there was real uncertainty about whether Tennessee would need to wait until Saturday morning to head out. According to On3’s Chris Low, the team now plans to return to McGhee Tyson Airport on Friday night and fly to College Station after the FAA lifted its nationwide ground stop. That would give Tennessee more breathing room than a game-day trip, even if the delay trimmed down the time the team has to settle in before kickoff.
Tennessee wasn’t the only program dealing with the mess. Texas, Ole Miss and Baylor were also caught up in the disruption as they prepared for Saturday road games, and some teams had started looking at alternate travel options while others braced for the possibility of leaving on game day. The SEC was also monitoring the situation as questions swirled about whether kickoff times could be affected.
That never came to pass for this game. Saturday’s meeting between No.
8 Tennessee and Texas A&M remains set for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN.
The Aggies will host the Volunteers in their annual Operation Blackout game, with Texas A&M looking to snap a difficult stretch against one of the SEC’s top teams. Tennessee comes in off last weekend’s win over Kentucky, and while the travel hiccup cost the Vols some valuable time, it’s a much better outcome than being forced to make the trip on game day.
For a few tense hours Friday, a nationwide aviation problem put one of Saturday’s biggest SEC games in doubt. Now, with Tennessee back on track to travel, the matchup at Kyle Field looks ready to go as scheduled.
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