Penn State’s James Franklin advocates for travel change in State College

With the Big Ten represented on both the East and West Coasts, travel has become a major concern for teams heading to the opposite side of the country.

It will be an interesting storyline to follow when No. 4 Penn State travels to Los Angeles this Saturday to take on USC. In a recent press conference, Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin said the State College airport needs to be changed when required to travel out west.

“To me, that’s one of the things that I think we have to discuss,” Franklin told the media. “Increasing the size of the runway here, the airport here, for a lot of reasons…now that we’ve decided to make this move in the Big Ten…that’s a big part of it, you’re talking about adding another two hours to your trip on top of the flight.”

Aside from the travel aspect, this matchup between Penn State and USC pits two exciting offenses against each other. The Nittany Lions and the Trojans are both averaging over 30 points per game thus far and are headlined by great quarterback play from Drew Allar and Miller Moss, respectively.

This game is also a rematch of one of the greatest Rose Bowl games in recent memory when USC defeated Penn State 52-49 in 2017. This matchup contained a healthy dose of NFL talent. Saquon Barkley, Chris Godwin, and Mike Gesicki represented the Nittany Lions, while Sam Darnold, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Adoree Jackson represented the Trojans.

Both teams could really benefit from a win on Saturday. Penn State looks to capitalize on an impressive start, while USC looks to keep up in the Big Ten race after a disappointing loss to Minnesota on the road.