10
Loading video...
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Oklahoma was supposed to host Ole Miss in Norman on Saturday, a game that could have massive implications for the Rebels' College Football Playoff hopes, and potentially Brent Venables' future as Sooners head coach. But the SEC decided to push that game back a day after Ole Miss ran into travel problems caused by Friday's nationwide FAA ground stoppage.
The FAA temporarily grounded flights across the country for more than four hours due to communication issues at regional air traffic control centers, leaving several college football programs scrambling to get where they needed to go. But while the stoppage was eventually lifted Friday night, Ole Miss couldn't arrange a late departure with its charter company, leaving the SEC to step in and move the game to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Safe to say that decision hasn't sat well with everyone, including former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.
Read More on NCAA
"This decision by Greg Sankey is absolutely wrong," Stoops wrote on X. "All of the Power 4 teams found a way to make it to their games, but Ole Miss wouldn't 🤔 ASU is flying across country to UCF this AM to play today. Greg Sankey instead of telling OU they would forfeit if they didn't change the day, he could have told Ole Miss they will forfeit if they didn't find a way to Norman even if game is delayed. But instead he didn't!!"
More news: Nick Saban Shares Blunt Take on College Football Playoff Rankings
Stoops has obvious reason for saying Ole Miss should've been forced to forfeit the game if they couldn't find a way to get to Oklahoma, but he's also not wrong that several other programs managed to work around the travel disruptions. Several other teams across the country acted fast to adjust their flights, find another means of transportation, or have their kickoffs delayed. Only the SEC chose to push back the game by an entire day.
Oklahoma also strongly objected to the change, with athletic director Roger Denny revealing that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey threatened the Sooners with a forfeit if they refused to play on Sunday. A wild turn of events for a school whose players and fans have planned their entire weekend around a Saturday home game.
More news: Nick Saban Sends Message to Kamario Taylor After Mississippi State Decision
...
More news: Urban Meyer Sounds the Alarm on LSU Ahead of Massive Showdown With Texas
Auburn switched buses for its trip to Mississippi State, with the SEC pushing kickoff back from noon to 4:15 p.m. ET. Purdue also chose to travel to Iowa via a bus, while Tulane took the same approach for its trip to Rice, with kickoff moved to 4:30 p.m. ET, two hours back from its previous time slot.
Meanwhile, Arizona State planned to fly from Tempe to Orlando on Saturday morning to face UFC, with the Big 12 moving the game back two hours to give the Sun Devils more time to arrive. Washington also managed to get to Michigan State after returning to campus when its original flight was grounded, eventually departing later on Friday night.
Considering how hard every other school worked to get to their games, there's growing frustration around how the SEC has handled the Ole Miss and Oklahoma game, especially for such a high-stakes clash this late in the season.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines