A nationwide FAA shutdown threw college football into chaos Friday, stranding teams and threatening Saturday’s schedule. But Ohio State dodged the nightmare as Northwestern landed in Columbus before flights were grounded. With both teams sitting at 6-3 after consecutive losses, the Buckeyes have bigger problems than travel delays. Another defeat could crush their already fading Big Ten title hopes.

According to an Eleven Warriors X post, an Ohio State spokesperson confirmed Northwestern had already arrived in Columbus before the nationwide ground stop. The Columbus Dispatch also reported that the Wildcats’ flight from Chicago landed Friday before the grounding.

The FAA ordered the nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m. ET after a telecommunications failure affected all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers responsible for managing aircraft between airports.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later explained that outdated routers became overloaded with data, creating inconsistencies in the information transmitted across the system. Reports also indicated that an update to the communications network triggered a reboot and subsequent crash.

With reliable communication essential to air traffic safety, the FAA halted departing flights as a precaution. Federal officials said there was no indication of a cyberattack or other malicious activity.

The shutdown was only the third nationwide ground stop since September 11, 2001. The first followed the terrorist attacks, while the second occurred in January 2023 after the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions system failed.

This time, the disruption lasted approximately five hours before the FAA reopened the airspace at 8:15 p.m. ET. But lifting the order did not immediately clear the chaos. According to CBS News, FlightAware recorded more than 10,000 flight delays and over 4,000 cancellations Friday.

History shows just how severely a nationwide aviation shutdown can disrupt college football. Following the September 11 attacks, dozens of games were postponed or canceled amid widespread flight restrictions and national security concerns.

Ohio State’s matchup against San Diego State was pushed to October 20, while Northwestern’s game against Navy was canceled entirely. According to ESPN’s reporting at the time, Hawaii also postponed its game against Nevada after United Airlines couldn’t guarantee flight operations.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. College football teams traditionally travel on Fridays to complete preparations and get sufficient rest before kickoff. Instead, the shutdown left several programs stranded during their departure windows, with little certainty about when they could leave.

Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Utah were among the affected programs. Auburn, Purdue and North Texas switched to buses, while others explored Saturday morning flights. Even after the order was lifted, airlines faced the challenge of clearing backlogs and repositioning aircraft.

The disruption also forced conferences to adjust kickoff times. Arizona State’s matchup with UCF was pushed to 5:30 p.m. ET, while Florida Atlantic’s game against Tulsa moved to 7:15 p.m. ET. Auburn-Mississippi State and Tulane-Rice also received revised start times.

Officiating crews created another potential concern, as referees frequently fly to their assignments the day before games. But the Big Ten confirmed that officials for all eight of its Saturday matchups had already arrived, eliminating another possible scheduling headache.

For teams still traveling, the consequences extended beyond delayed arrivals. Overnight flights and last-minute transportation changes threatened to disrupt recovery time, game preparation and pregame routines, potentially putting visiting teams at a disadvantage.

Northwestern had also avoided an earlier equipment-related ground stop affecting Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports. With Ohio State playing at home and the Wildcats already in town, Saturday’s noon ET kickoff remained unchanged.

And that was one less headache for a Buckeyes team already dealing with plenty. Ohio State enters Saturday at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play after losing 30-18 to USC and 41-28 to Oregon, marking its first consecutive defeats since 2011.

With quarterback Julian Sayin sidelined indefinitely, freshman Luke Fahey is preparing for his third start. The Buckeyes desperately need an offensive response after watching their conference championship hopes take a serious hit.

Northwestern isn’t exactly arriving with momentum either. After opening the season 6-1, the Wildcats lost 34-26 to Oregon and 24-10 to Iowa. Quarterback Aidan Chiles remains sidelined, leaving Nicco Marchiol expected to start.

The matchup also features an intriguing coaching reunion. Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who helped Ohio State capture the 2024 national championship, will face Ryan Day, who considers Kelly a mentor.

Ohio State enters as approximately a two-touchdown favorite and looks to extend its 11-game winning streak against Northwestern. But with a trip to Nebraska on November 21 and Michigan visiting on November 28, the Buckeyes cannot afford another setback.

FAA Grounds Flights, College Football Conferences Scramble to Keep the Show on the Road

The situation became serious enough for Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to directly address college football programs during Friday night’s briefing. With charter flights carrying entire teams, he urged schools to coordinate their departures with aviation authorities.

“If you’re talking about football teams moving, many of those are charters, and there’s a lot of individuals on those charter planes, so I would encourage those football teams to reach out to the FAA to schedule those flight times, so they can move and make sure we have games going off tomorrow,” Duffy said, according to The Associated Press.

The SEC emphasized player safety. “The safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches, and team personnel remain our highest priority,” the conference said in a statement reported by CBS Texas.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 confirmed it was evaluating potential schedule changes, while TCU acknowledged discussions about its kickoff against Kansas State after the Wildcats’ travel was disrupted.

And the chaos wasn’t limited to the college game. The Brooklyn Nets were grounded in New Orleans, while Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson revealed his team was scrambling to secure hotel rooms ahead of its next game.

“It’s part of it. You just adapt,” Atkinson said. NHL teams and women’s college basketball programs also faced uncertainty, demonstrating how quickly an aviation failure could disrupt an entire weekend of professional and collegiate sports.

College football fans, meanwhile, questioned the sport’s increasingly complicated travel demands. On Reddit’s r/CFB discussion, one fan sarcastically wrote, “Another tick in the box for regional conferences.”

Another questioned the logic of sending teams thousands of miles for conference games when regional scheduling once made bus travel a practical alternative. The criticism highlighted a growing vulnerability in college athletics: when air travel fails, geographically scattered conferences have limited backup options.

For Ohio State, the travel crisis is over before kickoff. But Ryan Day’s team still faces a more pressing challenge: ending its two-game losing streak before its Big Ten title hopes disappear entirely.