Oklahoma furious over Ole Miss game move to Sunday; SEC threatens forfeit

Matthew Glenesk, USA TODAYSat, November 14, 2026 at 1:22 PM UTC

“Put simply, this decision isn't fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner Nation.”

Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny didn’t mince words after the SEC moved the Sooners’ game against Ole Miss from Saturday to Sunday because of the Rebels’ travel problems.

“But we've been given no other choice,” Denny said. “We are obligated to play the game when directed, but we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening.”

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And the stakes went beyond Oklahoma’s objections.

Denny said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey informed Oklahoma that refusing to play Sunday would result in a forfeit.

The unusual situation means Week 11 of the college football season will now stretch into Sunday afternoon.

The SEC announced early Saturday morning the game between Mississippi and Oklahoma, initially scheduled for a 3:15 p.m. local kickoff Saturday in Norman, will instead be played at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 15 (noon local). A television network for the game has not yet been determined, the SEC said.

The reason for the move, according to the SEC, is travel issues for Ole Miss stemming from Friday's nationwide FAA ground stoppage, which threw air travel across the country into chaos. The Rebels fly out of Tupelo, according to the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"The Ole Miss football team was unable to depart Oxford Friday night due to the FAA ground stoppage. After the stoppage was lifted, a late-night departure could not be accommodated by the charter company with which Ole Miss was contracted and the team's departure has been delayed until Saturday afternoon," the SEC said in statement.

Denny, however, made clear Oklahoma strongly opposed the decision.

"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. After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner (Greg) Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection. After continued discussions, he further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit.

"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.

"I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances. 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.

"We will continue to fight in the best interests of OU Athletics and always on behalf of our student-athletes and fans.

"On Saturday, we will share more on game logistics and fan appreciation measures."

Former OU football coach Bob Stoops has his say

On Saturday morning, former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops weighed in on X:

"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 [thinking emoji]. 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 day, he could have told Ole Miss they will forfeit if they didn't find a way to Norman even if game is delayed. But instead he didn't!!"

USA TODAY Sports digital editor Jace Evans contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oklahoma furious over Ole Miss game move to Sunday; SEC threatens forfeit

Source: Sports