How Big Ten's time-zone travel trouble impacts USC, Ohio State and Oregon in Week 5

Will travel become another dominant storyline in the Big Ten in 2025? 

We'll find out in Week 5. Four matchups feature games where a school will have to travel two time zones or more for their road game. 

No. 21 USC – which played at 11 p.m. ET against Michigan State in Week 4 – travels to No. 9 Illinois at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday. 

No. 1 Ohio State has its first road game at Washington (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). UCLA plays at Northwestern (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network). Then, No. 6 Oregon will meet No. 2 Penn State (7:30 p.m., NBC) in the first Big Ten, top-10 showdown. 

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Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington joined the Big Ten in 2024 and helped create this statistical trend. Big Ten teams are 10-19 when traveling two time zones or more in conference play the last two seasons and 10-19 against the spread. This is a real concern for the road teams this weekend, and some have planned accordingly. 

"We'll leave Thursday of this week," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said via 247Sports.com. "We're going to keep everything else the same, a little bit like when we were in the playoffs. Just sort of that mindset of going into a new environment, sort of getting calibrated, and then going to play from there. 

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USC coach Lincoln Riley also had a pointed criticism of the game time. 

"Going from the absolute latest kick in the country to the earliest kick has its challenges," Riley said via The Los Angeles Times. "But the challenges, it is what it is. We don’t make the schedule. Clearly."

Here is a closer look at the trends that will be tested on Saturday.

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Big Ten teams on road vs. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington

Each of the 14 Big Ten teams outside of the Pacific Time Zone has one game on the West Coast this season. Traditional Big Ten teams had trouble against the Pac-12 on the West Coast before USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon joined the Big Ten. 

Since 2024, those schools are 3-11 straight up when traveling to those former Pac-12 schools. That included a 1-3 record for ranked teams. No. 10 Michigan lost at Washington. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 24 Illinois lost at Oregon. No. 4 Penn State scored the only victory – a 33-30 win at USC – in an overtime thriller. 

Additionally, Purdue lost 38-21 Oregon State in non-conference last season, and Minnesota lost 27-14 at Cal on Sept. 13 this season. 

The Buckeyes were 14-point favorites at Washington this week, but that line has dropped as much as six points. The road team is 5-9 ATS in those 14 games on multi-time-zone travel games on the West Coast since last season with a 2-3 ATS record as a favorite.

Here is a look at those results since 2024: 

Oregon, UCLA, USC, Washington road record vs. rest of Big Ten 

The travel troubles go in both directions. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington have to travel across two or more time zones. Since 2024, those schools combined for a 7-8 record in those games against Big Ten opponents, and that includes a 5-10 record ATS.

Oregon is 4-0 in those two-time zone games, but they are 2-2 ATS. That includes a 34-13 victory against Northwestern on Sept. 13. 

The Ducks are an underdog at Penn State. 

USC is 1-3 in those two-time zone games and 0-4 ATS. The Trojans beat Purdue 33-17 on Sept. 13. It will be a challenge against the Illini on Saturday. UCLA was 2-1 in this situation last season with victories at Rutgers and Nebraska as an underdog. Washington is 0-4 in those games.  

Here is a look at those results: 

Will multiple-time-zone travel impact Big Ten playoff race? 

Oregon beat Ohio State 33-30 on Oct. 12, 2024, a matchup that kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game. A similar outcome could await the loser of the matchup between the Ducks and Nittany Lions on Saturday night. 

Ohio State did get revenge against the Ducks in a 41-21 Rose Bowl blowout – which also was a three-time zone game for the Buckeyes. Still, the trend is noticeable throughout the season. Here are five other games worth watching after Week 5 that will impact the conference race.

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Key Big Ten multiple-time-zone travel games