The college football schedule includes a wide range of times for teams to kick off and not all are as favorable as others. Between day and night games, some teams feel strongly on when they play, or how their schedule flows, especially with the time zone changes and distance teams have to travel nowadays.
USC coach Lincoln Riley isn’t thrilled with the kick off times of his last two games being so far apart. Last week, No. 21 ranked USC faced Michigan State at 11 p.m. ET, with the game played in Los Angeles. This week, the Trojans travel to Illinois for a noon ET kick.
“Going from the absolute latest kick in the country to the absolute earliest kick in the country has its challenges,” Riley said. “But the challenges — like, it is what it is. We don’t make the schedule, clearly.”
Riley discussed how getting back late can impact the team and especially how it can add up over time. He said the focus is on making sure they are prepared, but also making sure they aren’t pushing themselves too much.
“We’ve had to adapt a little bit in the way that we’ve prepared and how much that we’ve done … It compounds if you’re not careful,” Riley said. “We’ve tried to be mindful of getting our work done but at the same time knowing that we need to put a fresh football team on that airplane.”
The Trojans Oct. 11 game against Michigan does not yet have a time, then they face Notre Dame on the road at 7:30 p.m. ET.
USC is currently undefeated at 4-0 and are coming off a 45-31 win over Michigan State.
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