College Football Cancellations 2026: Latest Around the League as Surprise FAA Nationwide Ground Stop Causes Chaos

Washington and Arizona State face the steepest climb of any college football teams caught in Friday’s FAA ground stop. The FAA halted departures nationwide at 3:54 p.m. ET after a communication issue hit multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers, catching at least 10 Power 4 programs before they left for Saturday road games.

The advisory runs through 11:30 p.m. ET, but it keeps all departing traffic grounded until further notice. Teams within driving range are already on buses, which leaves the cross-country travelers waiting on the FAA.

FAA Ground Stop Hits College Football’s Longest Road Trips Hardest

The first sorting happened fast. Auburn is busing about four hours to Mississippi State for a noon ET kickoff. Purdue committed to a roughly five-hour bus ride to Iowa, and North Texas is busing to UTSA. Early kickoffs drew the first alarm Friday, and the earliest one became the simplest fix.

The middle tier is waiting on the FAA because the bus math barely works. Texas deplaned in Austin and returned to campus, planning to fly if the order lifts, with a roughly seven-hour bus trip as the backup for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at LSU. Kansas State faces a drive of more than seven hours for a 2 p.m. ET game at TCU and returned to its athletic complex with no new departure time.

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Tennessee had boarded for a 4 p.m. departure from Knoxville when the order came down, then left the airport for dinner at its football facility. The Vols kick off at Texas A&M at 3 p.m. ET.

Washington sits in the worst spot. The Huskies were at the airport when the stop hit, and the athletic department said the team returned to campus with “no plan or schedule to reach Michigan.” Seattle to East Lansing is too far to bus, and the 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff at Michigan State arrives at 1:15 p.m. on the Huskies’ body clocks.

Arizona State faces the same squeeze. The Sun Devils were scheduled to leave Phoenix at 2 p.m. MST for a trip of more than 2,000 miles to Orlando, where they face UCF at 3:30 p.m. ET. “Pretty much, we just get there way later,” coach Kenny Dillingham said earlier in the week. “So we leave at two, we get in at 8:30.”

That plan is gone. Phoenix Sky Harbor told passengers that flights may not depart until at least 9 p.m. MST, and any Saturday morning charter heading east from Seattle or Phoenix gives back two or three hours to the time change.

Which College Football Kickoffs Could Move if the Ground Stop Lingers

Washington and Arizona State aren’t alone in the afternoon window. Baylor (at BYU, 3:30 p.m. ET), Florida Atlantic (at Tulsa, 3:30 p.m. ET) and Ole Miss (at Oklahoma, 4:15 p.m. ET) were all still grounded Friday evening.

The night slate carries far less risk. Utah at Arizona (7:30 p.m. ET), Minnesota at Penn State (7 p.m. ET), Oregon State at Boise State (6 p.m. ET) and Colorado State at Washington State (10:30 p.m. ET) all leave room for a Saturday morning flight.

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Plenty of teams beat the clock. Every ACC visiting team reached its destination before the stop, USC and Nebraska were already airborne when it hit, and the Big Ten said its officiating crews are all on site for Saturday’s games.

Every athletic director with a grounded team is watching that 11:30 p.m. ET line. If departures resume overnight, Saturday becomes a test of sleep and preparation. If they don’t, the Big Ten and Big 12 will have to decide whether Washington and Arizona State can kick off on time, and adjusting the ASU game is reportedly already on the table.

Teams still grounded as of 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, by Saturday kickoff time:

• Kansas State (at TCU, 2 p.m. ET)
• Tulane (at Rice, 2 p.m. ET)
• Tennessee (at Texas A&M, 3 p.m. ET)
• Arizona State (at UCF, 3:30 p.m. ET)
• Baylor (at BYU, 3:30 p.m. ET)
• Florida Atlantic (at Tulsa, 3:30 p.m. ET)
• Ole Miss (at Oklahoma, 4:15 p.m. ET)
• Washington (at Michigan State, 4:15 p.m. ET)
• Oregon State (at Boise State, 6 p.m. ET)
• Minnesota (at Penn State, 7 p.m. ET)
• San Jose State (at Air Force, 7 p.m. ET)
• Texas (at LSU, 7:30 p.m. ET)
• UNLV (at New Mexico, 7:30 p.m. ET)
• Utah (at Arizona, 7:30 p.m. ET)
• Wyoming (at UTEP, 10 p.m. ET)
• Colorado State (at Washington State, 10:30 p.m. ET)

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.