A nationwide flight disruption by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) threw college football into chaos ahead of a major weekend of games. Ole Miss now has to face Oklahoma on Sunday.

The FAA grounded flights across the United States for several hours on Friday. Thousands of flights were affected. Since most college football teams travel the day before their Saturday games, preparations were thrown into disarray for numerous programs.

Among the teams affected were No. 2 Utah, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Tennessee. Utah’s road game at No. 22 Arizona was pushed back three hours to 10:30 p.m. ET. Baylor’s game at No. 12 BYU also started later than planned, with kickoff moved back three and a half hours to 7 p.m. ET.

The impact was especially significant for Ole Miss. The No. 19 Rebels were unable to leave Oxford, Mississippi, in time. As a result, their game at Oklahoma was moved to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, putting it up against the NFL’s early games.

Mehr von FootballR

Chiefs: Kenneth Walker out with groin injury

Detroit Lions to Build Playgrounds in Germany, with Help from Eminem’s Restaurant

Amon-Ra St. Brown surprises in Munich: “I want to go to the Olympics for Germany”

Six Super Bowl Trophies in Tow: Patriots Land in Munich

NFL Week 10: Munich Showdown and Quarterback Shake-Up—Who Wins?

Sooners athletic director Roger Denny strongly criticized the decision. Ole Miss had explored every option for traveling to Norman and playing on Saturday. After several conversations with the league, Commissioner Greg Sankey ordered the game moved to Sunday over Oklahoma’s explicit objections, Denny wrote in a message posted on X.

Denny also said Sankey had told Oklahoma that failing to play at the scheduled time on Sunday would be considered a forfeit. The decision was unfair to both the athletes and the fans, the athletic director wrote. But Oklahoma had no other choice after, in his view, the wrong decision had been made.

Teams turn to buses as key games remain in focus

Texas at LSU and Tennessee at Texas A&M were expected to arrive later than planned. Both teams would have to prepare to play on significantly less sleep than usual.

The Big 12 also moved the Arizona State-UCF game from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. That gave the Sun Devils three extra hours after a delayed flight from Arizona to Florida.

Other teams opted for a more traditional solution. Auburn took a bus to Mississippi State. The SEC pushed the start time back by more than four hours to give the Tigers extra time. Purdue also traveled by bus from West Lafayette, Indiana, to Iowa.

On the field, Utah’s game at Arizona is drawing particular attention. The unbeaten Utes can keep their path to the Big 12 Championship Game on track with a late-season win. Noah Fifita and Devon Dampier will face off in a matchup of two standout quarterbacks.

Texas is looking for its fourth straight win at No. 24 LSU and a chance to improve its record against Top 25 teams to 5-0. LSU is 6-3 and has only slim playoff hopes. In the ACC, No. 11 Wake Forest hosts No. 25 SMU. Both teams are battling for a spot in the championship game.

No. 15 USC visits No. 6 Indiana looking to build momentum at the end of the season. Louisville travels to North Carolina. Bill Belichick’s team has played better lately and needs just one more win to become bowl-eligible. Louisville has won four straight and is in the race for a spot in the ACC Championship Game. The Cardinals need some help, though, as Wake Forest has a one-game lead and won the head-to-head matchup.