Duke Football Program Already in Miami Despite FAA Ground Stop

Week 11 of the college football season has already begun with some games earlier this week and will continue Friday night into Saturday. But as we sit here on Friday night, there could be some complications for programs traveling.On Friday afternoon, the FAA issued a ground stop for the entire country. It's rare to see a ground stop for the entire country, as thousands of flights have been cancelled all over and there's no official word on when it will be lifted. With the ground stop, some programs still have not reached their destination. Whether it be still on campus or sitting on the tarmac, there are planes grounded and games scheduled for 18 hours from now. ESPN's Pete Thamel has been tracking teams that are on the road and should be traveling on Friday. He's done a great job of breaking down who is still waiting to leave and who is already at the location. While there are some big games potentially being impacted, it looks like Duke and other Atlantic Coast Conference road teams are fine. Thamel has confirmed that all road ACC teams are already on site, and the games will not be impacted at all on Saturday. That includes the Blue Devils, who are in Miami for their upcoming game.That's certainly good news. The last thing a team needs is to be stuck at an airport and have to leave the day of a game, potentially only a few hours before kickoff. Thamel even shared a story of Colorado State holding a walk-through at the airport before their trip to Pullman to face Washington State.There has been no official word on when this ground stop will end, either. For Duke, this is a huge game. Not only are they still alive in the ACC race, but they are facing off against a really good Miami team. There's a slim chance the Blue Devils can play themselves into the College Football Playoff race but that would have to start with a win this week. There's also the Darian Mensah factor. The Miami quarterback transferred from Duke to the Hurricanes late in the offseason, leaving some mixed feelings about the decision. The Blue Devils would love to go down to Miami and give the Hurricanes their second straight loss. Miami and Duke will kickoff at Noon ET and will be broadcast live on ABC.