Washington lands late for Michigan State after FAA ground stop; kickoff pushed to 5:30

Washington will play at Michigan State on Saturday after all, though later than planned and on a short night's sleep. The Huskies were stuck in Seattle Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration grounded departing flights nationwide. Once the ground stop was lifted Friday night, the program said it expected to resume the trip that evening, ClutchPoints reported.

The Big Ten then moved kickoff at Spartan Stadium from 4:15 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT). The game stays on Big Ten Network. Sports Illustrated reported that Washington was due to land in East Lansing around 2 a.m. ET Saturday. Its original charter had been scheduled to leave King County International Airport only minutes after the order came down. Before the stop was lifted, Washington spokesman Jeff Bechthold told Sports Illustrated that "the team had not yet boarded its plane before the FAA grounded all flights."

According to CBS Sports, Washington, Minnesota and Purdue were the only Big Ten teams caught by the stoppage, and every officiating crew will be available for its assignment. The extra 75 minutes is meant to give the Huskies some time to settle in. Their usual Friday routine is gone, though, and they now face a cross-country trip that ends in the middle of the night before a road game.

What it means for Saturday

Washington arrives at 5-4 and still stinging from a 28-25 home loss to Penn State. That defeat was the Huskies' third Big Ten loss by four points or fewer, after a 25-21 loss at USC and a 27-24 loss to Minnesota. They have played well on the road lately, winning 38-26 at Purdue and 17-10 at Nebraska. They will again be without wide receiver Christian Moss, who had quad surgery earlier this season, ClutchPoints reported.

Michigan State is 3-6 but coming off its best result of the year, a 15-6 win at Michigan that ended a six-game losing streak. Home games have been harder. The Spartans have not won a conference game at Spartan Stadium this season, losing to Nebraska, to Illinois by 38-37 and to Northwestern by 24-21. The teams last met in 2023, when Washington won 41-7 in East Lansing.

Even with the travel trouble, Washington is favored. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, Novig lists the Huskies at -127 on the moneyline and Michigan State at +122. On the spread, Washington is a 2.5-point favorite at -108 on Novig, with Michigan State at +106. The total sits at 43.5, where Novig has the over at -111 and BetRivers has the best over price at -109. BetMGM is the only venue showing 44.5, with the under at -118. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.0% to 6.5%, which suggests the venues mostly agree on this game. The open question is whether a late arrival and a compressed morning take anything out of a Washington team whose margins in conference play have already been thin.