Penn State Plans Early Departure for Big Ten Road Trip to USC

James Franklin has canvassed NFL and college programs about coordinating ithe October trip to Los Angeles.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin celebrates with the trophy on the podium after the 2023 Rose Bowl. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

James Franklin began his Penn State career with a game in Ireland, so he's familiar with logistical challenges. In his 11th season as Penn State football coach, Franklin has identified another challenge: the Oct. 12 game at USC. The Nittany Lions already are planning for it.

Penn State will play a regular-season road game in California for the first time since 1991, meeting the Trojans in their first Big Ten Conference season. Penn State has an advantage this season in that it gets a bye week following the trip to Los Angeles. The 1991 Nittany Lions hosted Brigham Young the week after that September game at USC.

However, Franklin is more concerned with what happens before this season's Penn State-USC game than after it. At Big Ten Football Media Days, Franklin said he has consulted with NFL and college programs about traveling cross-country for a regular-season game.

"We spent a ton of time talking to NFL organizations as well as college programs that have done East Coast to West Coast travel during the season and what are the best practices for that," Franklin said. "So [we] put a lot of time into that, and we're excited about those opportunities."

Franklin said that Penn State would leave "early" for the Oct. 12 game against USC but didn't specify which day. The Nittany Lions, who host UCLA on Oct. 5, normally practice late afternoon and could leave following Thursday's practice to have a full day in Los Angeles before the game. Franklin has taken the team to the Rose Bowl in 2016 and 2022, so the program is familiar with the logistics of a California stay.

Penn State also will fly out of Harrisburg International Airport to accommodate the larger plane required.

"Most schools have policies that tell you when you’re able to travel for away games," Franklin said. "When you add the West Coast teams that we've added, those policies are open for discussion. It's not the same old Big Ten. Everything needs to be looked at to create a little bit more flexibility."

Penn State will fly more tham 8,600 miles this season, with the USC trip accounting for about half that total. The Nittany Lions rank sixth in the Big Ten in projected miles flown, according to a recent study. And Franklin really isn't a fan of long-distance, in-season travel.

In 2014, Franklin began his first season as Penn State's head coach with a trip to Dublin to play Central Florida. Former coach Bill O'Brien had encouraged the trip as a reward for players and fans, since NCAA sanctions had prohibited Penn State from playing a bowl game in 2012-13. But Franklin wasn't thrilled with opening his first season in that way.

"It's like playing a West Coast game in the NFL on a Monday night, which the fans love and the coaches hate," Franklin said in 2014. "The difference is, in the NFL, those guys have more days off and they don't have school. … In the NFL, when they have an extra day off, they spend the entire day sleeping. Our guys won't. They're going to be in calculus."

Penn State beat UCF in Dublin on a last-second field goal and won its home opener the following week over Akron. This year, Penn State has a bye after the trip to USC before going back on the road to Wisconsin.

Before getting to either of those games, Penn State opens the 2024 season at West Virginia on Aug. 31. Franklin said he expects a "hornet's nest" for the noon ET kickoff on FOX.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.