Lincoln Riley’s USC Left Briefly Stuck in the Air, FAA Pauses All Flights in America

A nationwide flight pause of this scale is rare. In fact, Friday’s order was only the second nationwide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration since September 11, 2001, according to ABC News. The disruption came at a difficult time for college football, with teams across the country preparing to travel for their Week 11 matchups.

The sudden order left several programs dealing with last-minute changes just hours before their scheduled games. Some teams had to return to campus, while others switched to buses to reach their opponents. Lincoln Riley and USC were also caught up in the travel updates, stuck in the air according to initial reports, ahead of their road clash against Indiana.

“Tracking College Football teams amid the FAA pausing all flights nationwide.” The FAA issued the ground stop at 3:54 p.m. ET on November 13 after a communication issue affected air traffic control centers across the country, according to On3’s initial tracking.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the communication issue in a social media post. The FAA said the order was issued “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Its advisory instructed departing flights to remain grounded until further notice, while inbound international flights would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

A travel nightmare unfolded for Lincoln Riley's team mid-flight during a nationwide FAA halt. Stay tuned to EssentiallySports for the full story and how it impacts USC's schedule.

Several college football teams were still making their way to their Saturday destinations when the order came into effect. On3 reported that Tennessee, Texas, Ole Miss, Baylor, Kansas State, San Jose State, Washington, Minnesota, Florida Atlantic, Utah, Arizona State, UNLV, and Colorado State were among the programs affected.

The timing could not be worse for the College Football Playoff race. Several grounded programs are ranked contenders, including Utah, Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss. Meanwhile, Baylor and Minnesota were not expected to travel by air on Friday. Kansas State planned to try flying again on Saturday.

With only weeks left in the regular season, sudden travel fatigue or seven-hour bus rides could easily swing conference standings and playoff seeding.

USC would eventually land safely in Bloomington, as other programs reached their destinations, which included Nebraska, Florida, Missouri, Texas Tech, Duke, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Boston College, South Carolina, Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse, Cincinnati, UAB, Kennesaw State, Fresno State, James Madison, and FIU.

A few programs found another way to reach their games. Auburn, Purdue, North Texas, and Tulane changed their plans and began traveling by bus.

With several teams facing travel delays, there were also questions about possible changes to kickoff times. The SEC said it was closely monitoring the FAA situation and how it could affect Saturday’s schedule.

The Big 12 also confirmed that it was considering adjustments. In a statement, the conference said, “Due to the national FAA ground stop impacting team travel, the Big 12 Conference is evaluating potential changes to Saturday’s football schedule.” It added that it would continue working with its member schools and provide updates.

Game officials were another concern, but On3’s Pete Nakos reported that all Big Ten and SEC officiating crews were already on their respective campuses. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger also reported that discussions had taken place about potentially moving kickoff times.

CBS News reported that a communications network connecting air traffic control systems across the country underwent an update before rebooting and crashing. The outage led to the FAA’s decision to pause departing flights nationwide.

The incident followed another ground stop at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport at around 3:10 p.m. ET, roughly an hour before the nationwide order.

Beyond college campuses, the lack of a clear timeline from the FAA put the entire sports weekend in limbo. NHL teams like the San Jose Sharks faced Friday travel delays, while NFL clubs prepared for potential Sunday Week 10 disruptions if airspace remained restricted.

While USC had reached Indiana ahead of its game, other programs were still working through travel changes. With the SEC and Big 12 monitoring the situation, teams were waiting for further guidance on whether their Saturday plans would need to change.

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