University of Washington players are en route to Michigan State after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop that stranded team travel in Seattle on Friday afternoon.
FAA Ground Stop Delays Kickoff
The nationwide ground stop grounded departures across the lower 48 states due to a temporary telecommunications outage, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. The disruption forced the Washington football team to return to campus from King County International Airport after spending roughly six hours waiting to depart for East Lansing, The Seattle Times reported.
“I would encourage those football teams to reach out to the FAA, to schedule their flight times and make sure they can move” to make their kickoff, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U. S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
With the FAA lifting the grounding order just before 9 p.m. Eastern time, the Huskies boarded a charter flight and departed for Michigan at 10:25 p.m., according to The State News.
The travel delay pushed the scheduled kickoff at Spartan Stadium back from its original 4:15 p.m. slot to 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, as confirmed by Michigan State University Athletics. The game remains scheduled to air on the Big Ten Network.
Teams in flight limbo: Big 12: Baylor, Kansas State, Utah and Arizona State SEC: Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas ACC: All visiting teams on the ground. Big Ten: Minnesota, Purdue and Washington ALSO confirmed in limbo — Oregon State, Wyoming and North Texas. https://t.co/90SdwxZvmW
“With the FAA lifting the nationwide ground stop, the Washington football team anticipates resuming travel to Michigan State this evening,” UW athletics spokesperson Kurt Svoboda said in a statement.
Michigan State is in contact with the Big Ten Conference and the University of Washington, “MSU athletics said in a statement Friday evening.” “We will continue to monitor the situation and provide relevant updates.”
Quick catchup of top 25 teams that haven't taken off to their road games yet amid the FAA grounding: — No. 2 Utah — No. 6 Texas — No. 8 Tennessee — No. 19 Ole Miss Alabama drove to Vanderbilt.
Huskies and Spartans Prepare for Saturday
Washington enters Saturday’s matchup holding a 5-4 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play under head coach Jedd Fisch. The Huskies are coming off a Week 10 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions and are dealing with injuries to key personnel, including wide receiver Christian Moss, who underwent quad surgery earlier in the year.
The offense features contributors such as quarterback Demond Williams Jr., running back Trevion Cooley, and wide receiver Chris Lawson. Defensively, Washington’s roster includes safety Alex McLaughlin, who has recorded 64 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four pass breakups, three interceptions, and one forced fumble, alongside wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck.
Michigan State enters the contest at 3-6 overall and 1-5 in conference play under first-year head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The Spartans are riding momentum from a 15-6 victory over rival Michigan at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor last Saturday night, a win that allowed MSU to reclaim the Paul Bunyan Trophy for the first time since 2021 by outgaining the Wolverines 298 to 192 in total yards.
Michigan State’s offense is paced by wide receiver and Kent State transfer Nick Marsh—who leads the team with 35 receptions for 381 yards—alongside fifth-year center Trent Fraley, the squad’s highest-graded offensive player and a midseason watch list selection for the Rimington Award. Punter Ryan Dakin was also named to the midseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award.
An update from Washington, which is set to travel to MSU tonight. pic.twitter.com/x6W7gPRCVH
The Spartans’ defense relies on players such as safety Rylon Dillard Allen, nickel Dylan Robinson, freshman cornerback Jeron Jones, and Emmanuel Karnley, who leads the team with 11 pass deflections. The all-time series between Michigan State and Washington is led by the Huskies 4-1, with Washington taking a 41-7 victory in their most recent meeting in 2023 in East Lansing.
Disruptions Spread Across College Athletics
The FAA stoppage disrupted travel for at least 10 Power Four teams nationwide, including Big Ten conference peers Minnesota and Purdue. While Purdue opted to take a bus to its road game against Iowa, according to The Detroit News, other programs faced schedule adjustments.
Washington at Michigan State is moving to 5:30pm ET, per ESPN source.
Other programs arriving early avoided the disruption entirely. No. 16 Oregon hosted Michigan after the Wolverines traveled to Eugene on Thursday before the grounding order took effect, Ducks Wire reported.
Updated kick time vs Washington 🏈 Saturday, Nov. 14 🕠 5:30 PM ET 📺 BTN pic.twitter.com/p5OFxc9x6B
More on Big Ten Conference
The Washington-Michigan State game is moving to 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday, and will still be aired on BTN, according to a source. Originally was set for 4:15 p.m. ET. Washington making the late-night trip to Michigan following the FAA national ground stop.
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