In a statement released on Saturday, Nov. 14, the Rebels said they intended to fly to Oklahoma for Saturday’s game once the more-than-four-hour ground stoppage was lifted, but the crew that was chartering their JetBlue flight was unable to fly them, corroborating the SEC’s previous statement.
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“Like the rest of the nation, we faced unprecedented challenges with Friday’s ground stoppage. As we worked through the travel issues and uncertainty surrounding the situation in real time, the goal was always to fly to Norman Friday night and play the game Saturday. After the stoppage was lifted at 7:30 p.m., we began preparing the team for departure before our charter broker, Air Planning, informed us that JetBlue could not fly us Friday night,” the statement read.
Since the flight crew scheduled to operate the Rebels’ flight, which departs from Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi, about an hour from Ole Miss‘ campus in Oxford, had exceeded its allowable flying hours, the team could not leave until Saturday afternoon. An alternative plan involving an eight-plus-hour bus ride was deemed too late in the process to be a viable option.
“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.”
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
From tunnel runs and touching signs to mascots, marching bands and White Outs, these college football entrances help define the game-day experience.
Above, The Sooner Schooner takes the field before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the New Mexico Lobos at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Oklahoma won 14-6.
(BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
From tunnel runs and touching signs to mascots, marching bands and White Outs, these college football entrances help define the game-day experience.
Above, The Sooner Schooner takes the field before a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the New Mexico Lobos at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Oklahoma won 14-6.
(BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Colorado Buffaloes live mascot Ralphie VII “Brandy” runs onto the field prior to the game between the Weber State Wildcats and the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on September 12, 2026 in Boulder, Colorado.
(Andrew Wevers, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Osceola and Renegade run the center of the field to plant the spear ahead of kickoff of the Florida State Seminoles game against the SMU Mustangs on Monday, Sept. 7, 2026.
(Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democr, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Penn State players emerge for the iconic White Out entrance as fireworks illuminate Beaver Stadium.
(Matthew O’Haren, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Missouri Tigers defensive end Aidan Dubbert enters the field before the game against the Florida Gators at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
(William Purnell, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
A general overall view as Southern California Trojans players enter the field before the game against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
(Kirby Lee, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
The UCLA Bruins prepare to run onto the field for their game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Berkeley, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Texas Longhorns mascot Bevo XV arrives at the stadium before the game against the Texas State Bobcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
(Tim Warner, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Houston Cougars alumni Wilbert Brown and Antowain Smith lead the Houston Cougars out of the tunnel prior to a game against the Southern Jaguars at TDECU Stadium on September 12, 2026 in Houston, Texas.
(Zach Del Bello, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Devaughn Eka and Journey Tonga of the Brigham Young Cougars carry flags as they run onto the field before their game against the Utah Tech Trailblazers at LaVell Edwards Stadium on September 5, 2026 in Provo, Utah.
(Chris Gardner, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Mississippi State safety Boogie Johnson enters the stadium before a college football game between Mississippi State and Alabama at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Alabama defeated Mississippi State 56-23.
(Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledg, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
The Michigan Wolverines enters the field before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Stadium.
(Rick Osentoski, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
The Masked Rider leads the Texas Tech Red Raiders onto the field prior to a game against the Abilene Christian Wildcats at Galaxy Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Lubbock, Texas.
(Josh Hedges, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Michigan State Spartans defenders Keahnist Thompson, Kenny Soares Jr. and Nikai Martinez enter the stadium before their game against Illinois at Spartan Stadium.
(Dale Young, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
The California Golden Bears walk through the tunnel for the game against the Clemson Tigers at California Memorial Stadium on September 25, 2026 in Berkeley, California.
(Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Lane Kiffin of the Louisiana State Tigers enters the field before the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 19, 2026 in Oxford, Mississippi.
(Justin Ford, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Hall Schmidt of the UCLA Bruins leads his teammates onto the field carrying the flag of the United States before a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Rose Bowl Stadium on September 19, 2026 in Pasadena, California.
(Kevin Terrell, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
A general view of new Ryan Field as the Northwestern Wildcats enter the field prior to the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions on October 02, 2026 in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern unveils their new $875 million, 35,000 seat Ryan Field after two years of construction.
(Daniel Bartel, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
South Carolina Gamecocks enter the field before a football game .a at Williams-Brice Stadium on September 12, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.
(David Jensen, Getty Images)
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College football’s most electric game-day entrances in photos
Head coach Greg Schiano of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights leads his team onto the field ahead of the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at SHI Stadium on October 03, 2026 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
(Caleb Bowlin, Getty Images)
The schedule change did not sit well with Oklahoma and Sooners athletic director Roger Denny, who didn’t hold back in his statement early on Nov. 14 once the kickoff change was announced. Denny 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.
“I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances,” Denny said in a statement. “But those decisions must also consider the impact on everyone involved. Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner Nation. But we’ve been given no other choice. 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 Rebels acknowledged that other Power Four programs — including some in the SEC — were able to alter their travel plans by getting on a bus or other available charters to get on once the grounding was lifted, but Ole Miss “did not have those advantages.”
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“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 continued.
Ole Miss and Oklahoma are set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday, Nov. 15.
