Penn State changing travels plans ahead of road game at USC
When the Penn State football program heads out west for a crucial Big Ten matchup with the USC Trojans on Saturday, it’ll be one of the longest trips a team will need to make all year to play an in-conference road game. The Nittany Lions will travel nearly 2,700 miles from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California, which is about 150 miles further than they would if they were able to depart from their hometown airport.
However, leaving from State College Regional Airport is not a possibility, meaning the Nittany Lions first need to make a two-hour drive in the opposite direction before boarding their flight. Therefore, because of the extra hurdle that the school needs to clear even before boarding a plane for a nearly six hour plane ride, the Penn State football team will be departing on Thursday as opposed to their typical Friday departure date for a road game.
On Monday, Penn State football coach James Franklin, who hasn’t held back regarding his dissatisfaction with the state of the sport, explained the rationale for the decision.
“A big part of us leaving on Thursday is we cannot fly out of State College,” Franklin shared, per Daniel Gallen of 247Sports. “So that was a big part of our discussions with the Big Ten when all this thing got started is not only are we one of the most northeast schools, but based on runway length, size of plane, weight of plane, fuel on plane, we can’t get out of here unless we would stop for fuel. So with that, we gotta fly out of Harrisburg.”
Once upon a time, one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of widespread conference realignment were the concerns that schools had regarding traveling too far outside of their respective region too regularly. The sheer number of logistical challenges that this would present for universities was once thought to be a deal-breaker. But once the money from TV deals and revenue sharing began pouring in, it made it easier to ignore those concerns.
Big Ten expansion puts coastal schools in tough spot
No conference has expanded their geographic reach more over the last decade than the Big Ten. Once a predominantly Midwestern conference, the Big Ten now spans from coast to coast, with teams as far west as Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA, and teams as far east as Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State.
James Franklin has expressed confidence in this travel plan, but won’t be content to sit by quietly. On Monday, he was very vocal about the fact that the size of the State College Regional Airport is hindering his football program and its fans.
“I think we have to discuss increasing the size of the runway here and the size of the airport,” Franklin said. “That’s something that I think we’re going to need to look at addressing moving forward. Compared to a lot of other teams in our conference that, even if they are northeast, they have an international airport and things like that within a short distance from campus. We kind of got the double whammy. It’s the distance as well as the airport.”
Ultimately, if the 4th-ranked Nittany Lions leave Los Angeles with a win over USC, it will all be worth it. But if Penn State comes up short, you better believe this will be a continued point of contention.
The post Penn State changing travels plans ahead of road game at USC appeared first on ClutchPoints.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings