USC...USC....USC
- Thread starter Obliviax
- Start date
By the way....if tOSU beats Oregon, Ga beats TX and PSU beats USC that would leave a matchup of
#1 tOSU
vs
#2 PSU.
#1 tOSU
vs
#2 PSU.
I tend to think it's because the Minnesota loss let some air out of USC's balloon, so the money is moving accordingly in Penn State's direction.
Meanwhile, our games against both Minnesota and Washington are suddenly looking a bit more challenging. We're definitely through the easier part of the schedule. No cakewalk the rest of the way.
By the way, I'm very interested in how West Virginia does against unbeaten Iowa State this week. Rooting hard for the Mountaineers...if for no other reason than to troll Lando.
Not for nothing, but Wisconsin is probably 2 hours closer by air to LA then State College, PA genius.... and 1/4 less solar time differential.
Last edited:
Wrong, the human body doesn't work that way - the position of the sun in the sky has a huge impact on your body's natural clock (i.e., if you leave shades up - or sleep outside - most people will be awoken by the sunrise.). Correspondeningly, most people can't just make their body go to sleep at dinner time while it's still warm and sunny outside. You absolutely tend to be up for 4 more hours on travel-day going east-to-west, coast-to-coast (and up a short day - like 12 hours - when going opposite direction).
So what does equate to in airplane time; an extra hour and a 1/2 if that? Michigan had to fly to Seattle this past weekend with their terrible passing attack and only lost by a td to a team that has a much more explosive offense. Of course, travel always is an issue, but it would be an issue traveling to Madison and Minneapolis too.
You have schools like Cal that will be making their third trip East this weekend when they play at Pitt. Stanford had to play at Syracuse and Clemson in back to back weeks. USC has had to fly east in two out of the last three weekends. PSU only has to make one of these cross country trips this season.
USC had an opportunity to seal the game. Up 17-10, driving, but their OL gave up a hurry to a 3 man pressure which led to a int. Minnesota drives it and evens the score. They force a 3 and out. Unnecessary roughness on the punt return puts Minnesota at the 25 instead of 10.
And Minny just drives it down the field chewing clock.
And Minny just drives it down the field chewing clock.
In reality, they're probably going to get more rest than they do when they play home games.
Also, this team needs to get on the road because when you play too many consecutive home games, it creates complacency. I expect this team to be more energized to play this game on the road.
You're skipping the solar differential as well - when you travel east-to-west, travel day doesn't just "feel like a longer day" - it is in fact, and reality, a longer day. I clearly said coast-to-coast, not from the middle of the Country to West Coast.
Again, what the heck are you talking about? If they go to bed around 10-11 PM ET (7-8 PM locally in LA), the sun will already be set and it will be nighttime. They can actually stay pretty much on the exact same schedule they would keep for a home game, including getting up early for warm ups and game prep. In fact, they'd likely get more sleep than they would at home or at a ET/CT away game - do something like go to bed at 8 PM PT [11 PM ET] and get up around 5 AM PT [8 AM ET].
There is certainly some weariness due to the bus ride and flight but nothing too dramatic and not impacted by the timezone shift at all.
I agree that it is a factor; from the time that these West Coast teams were added, I have said that the travel would be a factor so I'm not going to deny it now. I just don't how much of a factor it will be for PSU since they haven't played a road game in a month and a half and that game was played within three hours driving distance from State College.
If this were PSU's second or third trip to the West Coast this season, I believe that it would be an almost impossible hurdle to overcome. However, I really believe that this team needs to get on the road and any disruptions in their Circaidian rhythms will be overcome by the adrenaline of playing in LA against USC.
Ummmm....., it is not dark in LA @ 7pm this time of year. LMAO. It isn't even "dark" at 8 this time of year.
USC's injury situation is significant. Their best defensive player, Philly native Eric Gentry, got hurt vs. Wisconsin, maybe back this week. They also lost DE Lucas at Minnesota -- don't know if he'll be back this week. According to this they're thin on the DE.
USC defensive depth issues are real, show why Trojans aren't there yet
USC fans might not want to hear this, but losing Anthony Lucas, Eric Gentry, and Bear Alexander really mattered for the USC defense against Minnesota.
trojanswire.usatoday.com
I think the starters are pretty much all in First/Business Class seats with full reclining beds
Sunset in LA is 6:28pm local time today.
Bit what about the effect of solar flares on the solar differential...and don't forget about El Nino and C0VID.
Frankly, you're being absurd. The NFL has been flying teams cross country for decades. There is no discernible impact on East Coast teams going west, unlike west coast teams that struggle comparatively on the East Coast.
Moss has taken an unreal number of hits in just half a season so far. In my opinion he's one hit away from being knocked out of a game. He has already shown some signs of being a shot QB. Now, they could very well come out and light it up to start the game and I sure hope not, but it will behoove Penn State to get some shots on him early and often
UCLA did fly directly into SC. I don't know if they took off from SC but I saw the flight tracker which is based on their flight plan. It went from LAS to the state college airport.
Comparing Minny being able to beat USC in Minneapolis is radically different than being able to beat USC @TheColiseum. There is probably at least a 10 point swing in the advantage between the two (3-5 point @Home advantage played in Minny vs a 7-9 point home advantage for USC @Coliseum). A world of difference between Minny upsetting USC in Minneapolis and PSU beating USC @TheColiseum (if PSU was playing USC @TheBeav, they would probably be a 12 point favorite vs the slight betting favorite they are @USC.).
Why on Earth would the Coliseum, and USC's casual fans, be more significant than a typical home field advantage (3 points)?
And on top of that I'd expect a healthy PSU contingent given this is the first regular season game on the west coast for PSU in eons.
Typically less fuel is needed going west to east since the travel is with the prevailing winds and you have a tailwind. That may be why they could pull off a direct inbound flight. Did they also have a direct outbound?
As for PSU's itinerary, personally I'd favor a flight with a layover over a 1.5 hour bus ride to Harrisburg but apparently the team doesn't. I guess the risk is flight connection problems if they aren't on a charter. In terms of total elapsed time I'd think the two options would be relatively close as long as the layover is reasonably short.
As for jet leg, I've always found it easier to adjust when traveling to the west as opposed to the east. But I also never really found jet lag to be a big deal when traveling within the US, the adjustment of just a few hours isn't all that difficult to get used to.
Yes, UCLA WR's found gaping holes in our zone defense Saturday. I hope PSU gets this corrected this week. There was no DB within 10 yards of some of the receptions made by UCLA's WR's.
This has been an issue all season and especially since the BG game. It's ridiculous how wide open receivers are against this defense. Also, how many times is a receiver simply going to run five yards past the line of scrimmage into a gaping open space, post up, catch an uncontested pass, and then run five or ten more yards before being tackled? The slant pattern also has been a problem all season.
UCLA flew back from Harrisburg.
Some have written that the issue with the outbound flight is the amount of fuel (weight of the plane) relative to the runway length. So, perhaps like UCLA the PSU football team might fly from LA into State College.
lol the wrs did not find gaping holes. They had only 167 yards passing and 53 was to running back on one blown play. Plus another 30 some on meaningless last drive
Last edited:
Our players must close fast. Longest receptions Saturday were:
Loya had receptions of 14, 16, 18.
The RB had a 50 yard one where depending on your perspective either Robinson got caught with his eyes in the back field or the TE engaged him and didn't allow him to get into coverage.
Not only less fuel, but the flight time is generally 45 minutes to 1 hour shorter depending on the speed of the jet stream. Flight west is usually over 6 hours, flight east 5-5:15 hours.
Some of you people are so laughable - UCLA passed for only 167 yards on 22/30 for an average completion of 5.6 yards.
Granted it was a long time ago, but my concern remains that USC has been able to exploit zone coverage in our last meetings which were both bowl games. Made Mark Sanchez look like an NFL quarterback in 2009, and Sam Darnold look like the NFL quarterback he's become today.
The D really needs to shut them down. Their receivers are studs. All 6' plus with hands and speed. If PSU lets them get started, it might be a tough day.
You are not going to "shut them down" defensively. They got 24 on Michigan and that defense on the road, and they gave away turnovers in Minnesota or they would have won that game also. They're going to get theirs more than likely. To win this game PSU needs to score points when the opportunity presents itself and play complimentary football when they do get stops. 17 to 20 points won't get it done. Singleton needs to be a factor and we must bring the passing game to LA also. 24 to 28 points should be enough, but if we bring our 2023 offense vs OSU and Michigan, it's an L.
Play the game the way we played in Morgantown and we come back home 6-0.
Play the game the way we played in Morgantown and we come back home 6-0.
You can only beat the teams on your schedule. If PSU wants to take the next step, they definitely need to take care of business this weekend.
And who exactly besides the "chicken little" trolls believe PSU is not going to win this game?
Not sure that's a given. They fell apart last season and lost 4 out of 5 to close the year.
