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BATON ROUGE, La. - The FAA ground stop ended Friday night. The drama in the SEC was just getting started, over scheduling.
After a nationwide air travel shutdown left college football teams scrambling to reach their destinations, a bitter dispute erupted over the Oklahoma–Ole Miss game in Norman.
FAA GROUND STOP LIFTED ON FRIDAY NIGHT, BUT SOME COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS STILL SCRAMBLING TO TRAVEL
From Washington to Tennessee, multiple schools were set to take off on Friday afternoon for their Saturday games, which involved teams getting on their respective charter flights, only to be told they'd have to deplane due to the FAA groundstop.
This included the Texas Longhorns, who were scheduled to play LSU on Saturday night here in Baton Rouge.
Once the ground stop lifted, some teams managed to get back in the air. Kickoff times shifted where necessary, and schools worked to salvage their Saturday schedules.
But Ole Miss remained grounded in Oxford. And Oklahoma wanted answers.
Within the SEC, a battle was brewing between Ole Miss and Oklahoma regarding their scheduled kickoff on Saturday afternoon in Norman.
After being forced to deplane Friday, Ole Miss players and staff returned to the football facility to await word on when they could leave for Norman.
When the FAA lifted the ground stop, the Rebels prepared to head back to the airport. But another problem emerged: Their charter operator could no longer accommodate a Friday night departure.
According to sources, flight crew duty limits were part of the issue, leaving Ole Miss without a crew available to complete the trip that night.
Pete Golding of the Mississippi Rebels looks on before a game against the Louisiana State Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Sept. 19, 2026. (Getty Images)
Early Saturday morning, the SEC released a statement regarding the situation, which it says also was due to the Rebels not being able to depart Oxford until late Saturday afternoon.
"The Ole Miss football team was unable to depart Oxford Friday night due to the FAA ground stoppage," the SEC said in a statement. "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."
That explanation did little to ease the anger in Norman.
Oklahoma officials wanted the game played Saturday, even if that meant moving kickoff into the evening.
During multiple calls with the SEC and Ole Miss on Friday night, the Sooners made their objections clear. According to Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny, it was commissioner Greg Sankey who ultimately made it clear that the decision was final.
LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin talks with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey during SEC Media Day 2026 at the JW Marriott Water Street on July 23, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (University Images via Getty Images)
Denny released a very pointed statement early Saturday morning, pointing out that Sankey told them that it was either play on Sunday or forfeit the game against Ole Miss.
"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 tomorrow, they were unable to find a solution," Oklahoma AD Roger Denny noted. "After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection. After continued discussions, he further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit.
"Rescheduling the game has a significant impact, particularly on our fans. Those who have made travel arrangements, accommodations, and personal plans around a Saturday game now face unnecessary disruption and hardship. Their time, commitment and investment deserve greater consideration than they were afforded in the conference's decision tonight."
Texas, Tennessee and others across college football were among the teams able to reach their destinations Friday night, so Ole Miss will face plenty of questions from frustrated Oklahoma fans about why the Rebels couldn't do the same.
That comparison alone doesn't establish that Ole Miss had another workable option. To be fair, different charter arrangements and crew availability can produce different outcomes.
ARCH MANNING, TEXAS SURVIVE OLE MISS AFTER ANOTHER SECOND-HALF MELTDOWN CREATES AUSTIN ANXIETY
John Mateer No. 10 of the Oklahoma Sooners calls a play in the huddle in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Sept. 12, 2026. (Getty Images)
But, when an athletic director says that his team was forced to go along with the conference's decision against their will, it's not hard to understand why the Oklahoma football program would feel more than agitated.
"I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances," Sooners AD Roger Denny continued. "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.
"But we've been given no other choice. We are obligated to play the game when directed, but we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening."
I think it's fair to say that Ole Miss and Oklahoma will not be sharing Christmas cards this year, and Saturday's game will have some extra juice to it.
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As for the rest of this bizarre weekend, I headed down to my Baton Rouge hotel lobby for a bottle of water around 12:30 a.m., only to run into Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Arch Manning.
An elevator ride with Longhorns defensive coordinator Will Muschamp helped put a bow on a Friday that college football won't soon forget.
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Texas had made it to Baton Rouge, Tennessee made it to College Station, and other college football teams will leave on Saturday morning and play on the same day, while Ole Miss will still be waiting to leave Oxford.
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We'll have you covered from Texas–LSU, with major College Football Playoff implications on the line.
Trey Wallace is the Sr. College Sports Reporter for OutKick.
