The Big Ten expanded to the West Coast this season, and so far teams haven’t done well when going to the opposite Coast.
There have been nine intra-Coast games this year, and the road team has only won one of those.
Fun fact: Big 10 teams are 1-8 in conference play when traveling to the opposite Coast
— LandonTengwall (@landon_tengwall) October 7, 2024
Since Penn State will be the road team at USC this weekend, people are wondering what this means.
Will a jet lag and a time zone change be big factors in Penn State suffering its first loss?
Here’s a breakdown of the nine intra-Coast games and whether or not the road team’s failures were because of the travel.
USC’S STRUGGLES
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 28: USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during the college football game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the USC Trojans on September 28, 2024, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA.(Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire)
USC is the main reason we’re writing this article. That’s who Penn State plays this weekend and that’s why coach James Franklin and company have to travel across the country. USC has played in three intra-coast games, winning one at home (against Wisconsin) and dropping two on the road (at Michigan and Minnesota). Although losing at Michigan was an upset, it was a battle between two top 20 teams, so not necessarily a shock. The Minnesota game was much more surprising but Minnesota came into that one with some momentum, having just almost knocked off Michigan on the road the week before. A bigger reason for USC losing to Michigan and Minnesota than the time zone change was that it couldn’t stop the run. Cross country flights likely won’t be enough to stop Penn State’s Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
UCLA HAS LOST ON EACH COAST
Zane Durant & Abdul Carter pressure UCLA quarterback Justyn Martin.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.UCLA is the 1 behind the 1 in 1-8. Indiana flew across the country and destroyed UCLA in the 42-13 in the Rose Bowl. Perhaps the biggest stat that goes against the theory that Big Ten teams are worse when they travel to the opposite coast is that Indiana beat UCLA by more on the road than Penn State, which beat UCLA by 16 at Beaver Stadium last weekend, did at home.
WASHINGTON FALLS TO SCARLET KNIGHTS BUT MAKES MICHIGAN MISERABLE
SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER 05: Washington Huskies wide receiver Giles Jackson (5) comes down with a completed pass in behind Michigan Wolverines defensive back Makari Paige (7) during a Big 10 Conference game between the Washington Huskies and the Michigan Wolverines on October 5, 2024 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire)
Washington lost to Rutgers in New Jersey the Friday before it beat Michigan in Seattle. Were either of these games because of the time zones? Well, Rutgers is 4-0 and came into the season thought by many to be a sleeper in the Big Ten, whereas Washington had replacing practically everybody from last season’s national title runner-ups. The team that beat Washington in that title game, Michigan, also had to replace a lot. Teams in transition are going to struggle, and Washington has been on the right and wrong ends of that this season, which probably had more of an impact than the travel and time change.
OREGON MULLS MICHIGAN STATE
Then No. 6 Oregon (now No. 3) beat Michigan State (3-3, ranked nowhere) 31-10 last Friday night in Oregon. Was that because of the time zone change or because Oregon is just better? I know the answer, and I think you do, too.
CONCLUSION: TALENT > TIME ZONES
It’d be naive to say USC not having to travel across the country doesn’t give it an advantage. But every home team has an advantage. None of the teams that have failed on the opposite coast are as good as Penn State, and all these losses happened for reasons other than the time zone.
Penn State could lose at USC, but if that happens, it will be because of what USC does and what Penn State doesn’t do, not logistics.
