Oklahoma and Ole Miss were scheduled to meet on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the first of three installments as annual opponents under the SEC's nine-game format.
That changed on Friday, Nov. 13, when a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stoppage disrupted air travel across the country and impacted several college football programs.
The more than four-hour ground stop pushed the Week 11 SEC matchup to Sunday after it disrupted Ole Miss' travel plans, a decision that drew frustration from those associated with the Oklahoma program.
The one-day postponement drew significant scrutiny, especially since most programs affected by the ground stoppage
either departed later Friday night or early Saturday for their scheduled games. Others traveled by bus, if feasible, once the order was lifted around 8:30 p.m. ET.
The Rebels acknowledged others' ability to alter their travel plans in a statement on Saturday, but said they "did not have those advantages" at their disposal.
"We regret that the game had to be moved to Sunday, but we took every reasonable action in our power to avoid this scenario. The ground stoppage has been an unfortunate ordeal for all of us, and we are grateful that a solution was reached to play our game," the Rebels' statement read.
Ole Miss is looking to bounce back from a lopsided loss to Georgia last week, while Oklahoma is eyeing its second straight upset win over a ranked opponent. Here's what to know about Saturday's game:
Why is Ole Miss vs Oklahoma football playing on Sunday?
The SEC announced early Saturday morning that, due to the ground stoppage, Ole Miss was unable to depart on Nov. 13 and travel to Oklahoma after the restriction was lifted, resulting in the game's date and time being changed.
On Nov. 14, Ole Miss confirmed the SEC's statement that the flight crew scheduled to operate the Rebels' flight, which was set to depart from Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi — about an hour from Ole Miss' campus in Oxford — had exceeded its allowable flying hours by the time the grounding was lifted. Due to the crew needing a specific number of hours of rest before flying, the team could not leave until Saturday afternoon at the earliest. An alternative plan involving an eight-plus-hour bus ride was deemed too late in the process to be a viable option as well.
"At that hour, due to the time required to rescreen the party and travel to the Tupelo airport, the crew’s duty time would have expired prior to departure. There were no other flight options at that point, and we determined it was too late to put our student-athletes on a bus trip of eight or more hours. In addition, the flight crew’s duty time restrictions prevented us from being able to fly out until Saturday afternoon at the earliest," Ole Miss' statement said.
The schedule change did not sit well with Oklahoma and Sooners athletic director Roger Denny, who said the decision isn't fair and that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey informed the Sooners they would be forced to forfeit if they didn't play on Sunday.
"We recognize the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the ground stoppage and understand the challenges they created for teams across the country. As soon as we learned of Ole Miss' travel issues, we immediately began communicating with their staff and our conference leadership. 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," Denny said in a statement.
"... 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. ... We are obligated to play the game when directed, but we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening."
The decision by the SEC to delay the game even drew loud criticism from former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.
This decision by Greg Sankey is absolutely wrong. 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…
— Bob Stoops (@CoachBobStoops) November 14, 2026
Ole Miss vs Oklahoma football: Time, TV channel, location
- Date: Sunday, Nov. 15
- Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Norman, Okla.)
- TV channel: SEC Network
- Streaming: ESPN app | Fubo (free trial)
Oklahoma and Ole Miss are set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday, Nov. 15 inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. It'll be broadcast on the SEC Network with streaming options including the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The NFL owns Sundays. Why are Ole Miss, Oklahoma playing a college football game?
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