The 2024 college football season has already hit a high-profile travel snag ahead of the sport's very first slate of games on Saturday.
Delaware State and Hawaii are scheduled to meet at 11:59 p.m. ET, wrapping up the colloquial, four-game "Week 0" schedule, but a university spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the Hornets missed their flight from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport after their bus encountered bad traffic.
The spokesperson initially added to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the team is "working on a plan," later confirming to CBS Sports that DSU is "still scheduled to arrive on time in Hawaii tomorrow" after building an extra day of travel into their itinerary for such incidents.
Delaware State was a relatively late addition to the Rainbow Warriors' schedule, replacing a matchup against Oregon after the Ducks' 2024 slate was reconfigured by the Big Ten. Along with a three-hour bus ride from DSU, the Hornets were slated to take the 10.5-hour flight to the Polynesian capital, culminating in the longest single-game travel distance for any Division 1 game at the FBS or FCS level.
Across the two stops, the Hornets will rack up 5,109 miles, the next closest distance being another Week 0 game as Florida State will travel 4,087 miles to take on Georgia Tech in Dublin. Between the late arrangement and unparalleled travel distance, DSU coach Lee Hull noted the acute difficulties in preparing for Saturday's game.
"Today people coming in—'Oh we got an issue here, we got an issue there. What are we doing here?'" Hull said. "You know, so that last-minute stuff that comes up because of the long flight. You know we got to drive to JFK, which is three hours away. And then we got a direct flight, which is another 10.5 hours. So yeah, but we're looking forward to it."
The Hornets will face an uphill battle in improving upon their lowly 1-10 mark last season, making an immediate return across the country the following week to play Sacred Heart in Connecticut. But despite the unusual start time and overwhelming odds — Hawaii is a 38.5-point favorite against their FCS opposition — Saturday's matchup has picked up traction in the betting world and among diehard college football fans.
"It's cult-like in how Hawaii games get money that does not line up with the on-the-field matchup," veteran oddsmaker Jay Rood said. "It's bigger action than the game should get, because it's the get-even or get-even deeper game."
Hawaii, meanwhile, will look to start off 2024 as decisive victors, with kickoff scheduled for 11:59 p.m. ET on Spectrum Sports. The Rainbow Warriors will then head to southern California and look to spring the upset against Power 5 foes UCLA.
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