The ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday has had an outsized effect on college football, with multiple games getting their kickoff times postponed after significant travel delays.
Though the nationwide ground stop was lifted Friday evening, the hourslong delay left several teams scrambling to adjust their travel plans. Some teams, after being stranded, were forced to switch to buses, wait for late-evening Friday travel or postpone their flights until Saturday morning.
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As a result, a number of kickoffs have been pushed back to accommodate the late arrivals. Here’s the latest on those postponed games.
Arizona State at UCF
The Sun Devils, who were supposed to face the Knights at 3:30 p.m. ET, plan to fly to Orlando on Saturday morning. After initially getting ready to fly to Florida on Friday afternoon, Arizona State was forced to deplane and return to the campus after the ground stop.
As a result of the delay (and the lengthy, cross-country travel), the UCF-Arizona State matchup has been pushed two hours, and will kick off at 5:30 p.m. ET, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
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The Big 12 matchup between Kansas and West Virginia, which was supposed to take place in the 5:30 p.m. timeslot and was not affected by travel issues, will now happen at 3:30 p.m. ET. Kansas-WVU will air on ESPN2, while Arizona State-UCF will air on ESPNU.
Auburn at Mississippi State
Though Auburn-Mississippi State was supposed to begin at noon ET, that kickoff has now been delayed to 4:15 p.m. ET, the SEC announced Friday. The TV network is still to be determined.
The Tigers were one of the teams who opted to take a bus instead of wait for the stoppage to lift, but a late night and a long bus ride may have led to the time change.
No. 2 Utah at No. 23 Arizona
One of Saturday’s ranked matchups is getting pushed back, as Utah isn’t set to fly to Tucson until Saturday morning. Originally at 7:30 p.m. ET, the game will now kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET, per Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
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Dellenger reports that the Utes tried to leave Friday night after the stoppage lifted, but the pilots’ times had expired and they were blocked from taking off. Utah’s flight on Saturday is scheduled for mid-morning, which is why the kickoff was postponed three hours.
Baylor at No. 10 BYU
In another Big 12 postponement, Baylor’s travel issues to get to Provo will also lead to a multi-hour delay. The matchup against BYU has been moved from 3:30 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET, per Dellenger. Both Baylor-BYU and Utah-Arizona will air on FOX.
All four of the Big 12 teams that were affected — Arizona State, Utah, Baylor and Kansas State — opted to wait to fly until Saturday morning, leading to the mix-up in the conference’s schedule.
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Tulane at Rice, FAU at Tulsa
The American Conference announced Friday that two matchups will be postponed as a result of the ground stoppage.
Tulane, who was originally supposed to play against Rice at 2 p.m. ET, will now face the Owls at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Green Wave also opted to take buses into Texas, but may have been moved to delay kickoff after a late night of drive.
Meanwhile, FAU’s matchup against Tulsa has been pushed from 3:30 p.m. ET to 7:15 p.m. ET. Both games will air on ESPN+ and will be subject to the rest of the travel schedules going smoothly.
More delays expected
With several other teams either traveling late or getting on the plane early Saturday morning, more games are likely to be postponed, though times are still being negotiated.
This story will be updated.