November 14, 2026, 7:32 p.m. ET
It is less than eight hours from Oxford, Mississippi to Norman, Oklahoma. A police escort could save an hour of escape.
So why didn’t Ole Miss just drive to play Oklahoma after the FAA ground stop Friday afternoon?
Because for some reason, Ole Miss most likely thinks it still has an outside chance of reaching the College Football Playoff, that’s why.
They won’t say it and their official statement doesn’t mention it, but that’s what it’s about.
Even if it’s a pipe dream.
Ole Miss did not make the trip and will play Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon, as Ole Miss did not want to play the game after driving early Saturday morning. I didn’t want to put undue pressure on a team that needs to be absolutely perfect over the last three weeks of the season – and needs a lot of help outside of its orbit to reach the CFP.
That’s it, period.
But Ole Miss can’t say that, can’t admit to this last hope of returning the CFP and getting the SEC to agree to a Sunday game. So they concocted a story about the flight crew and their clocks expiring, and it sounds good because it’s more than likely true.
But Ole Miss was informed of the ground stoppage at the same time as every other college football team preparing to play a road game this weekend. All the other teams succeeded.
So Ole Miss and Oklahoma will play on Sunday because the SEC, for some reason, told Oklahoma that Ole Miss tried, and it will be in Norman for Sunday’s game. And if the Sooners don’t do it, they forfeit.
Correct me if I’m wrong, Sparky, but that’s exactly what the SEC should have told Ole Miss. The match will take place on Saturday at 9 or 10 p.m. local, be there or forfeit.
Except in cases of force majeure, we play football on Saturdays. If that means you’re embarrassed, so be it.
We are all professionals, we are all paid to play and coach a game.
And I don’t want to hear any self-serving statements from Oklahoma, Ole Miss or the SEC about the “health and well-being” of our student-athletes. That ridiculous 24-team CFP you just signed puts eight teams in line to potentially play 17 games, starting in 2027.
These are young people aged 18 to 22 (unless we’re talking about Indiana, around 2025), these are young men in the best shape of their lives. They can manage a seven-hour bus trip and arrive in Norman early Saturday morning.
When the FAA announced the nationwide ground shutdown at 3:54 p.m. ET (2:54 a.m. CT) Friday afternoon, Ole Miss should have immediately planned other bus trips — while trying to find alternate accommodations for the flight.
Set a deadline: If we don’t have information on final flight plans by 8 p.m., we’re heading to Oklahoma. We’ll arrive in town at 4 a.m., get eight hours of sleep, and start getting ready for a CT kick at 9 or 10 p.m.
If Ole Miss had informed the SEC that they were driving, the SEC would have moved the game to a time that was convenient for both teams. Oklahoma would have played at any time.
Instead, Ole Miss waited until the last possible minute to declare that we can’t get a plane, we can’t get a flight crew, we can’t get everything we need to make this work. So we don’t play on Saturday.
And that’s just not how it works. At 4 p.m. ET, the SEC should have told all member schools traveling to football games that there was no excuse for not playing the game on Saturday.
Find a way to access the game, even if you have to drive. Or forfeit.
CFP hopes this is a pipe dream, be damned.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on @MattHayesCFB. Listen daily, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
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