Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore gives a news interview after the team's win in an NCAA college football game against Wisconsin, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Now that Penn State has lost to UCLA and Nittany Lions coach James Franklin referenced the long trip to the West Coast as part of the reason, there has been a lot of discussion this week about college football teams having to travel across the country to play games.

This was part of the deal when the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference expanded last year. When things don’t go well, the strain of long-distance travel tends to come up as an excuse.

In Big Ten games this season, teams playing three time zones away are 4-2. Penn State has been on the wrong side as a host and visitor — losing at home to Oregon as a 4 .5-point favorite and losing at UCLA as a 24.5-point favorite.

In the ACC, the visiting team is 1-3. Boston College lost at Stanford as a two-touchdown favorite and lost to California at home as a 5.5-point favorite.

Last year, the visiting team in these games was 5-11 in the Big Ten. The record was 7-5 in the ACC, but it must be noted all 12 of those games involved western teams Cal and Stanford, and they struggled regardless of where they played while combining to go 9-16 overall.

There are four of these three-time-zone games in the Big Ten this week: Rutgers at Washington on Friday, and UCLA at Michigan State, No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon and No. 15 Michigan at USC on Saturday. Wake Forest of the ACC plays a nonconference game at Oregon State on Saturday.

Michigan is among teams traveling today, a day earlier than usual, for Saturday games. The Wolverines learned from last year’s 27-17 loss at Washington, with coach Sherrone Moore saying this week that his team was “a little groggy” against the Huskies. Moore noted that flying causes dehydration and that it takes extra time to recover after five hours on a plane.

Here are this week’s picks:

No. 1 Ohio State (-14.5) at No. 17 Illinois: Julian Sayin went over 300 yards passing for the third time last week against Minnesota. Pick: Ohio State 35-20

No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon (-7.5): Oregon is 7-1 at home against Top 25 opponents in Dan Lanning’s four seasons. Pick: Oregon 28-20

Washington State at No. 4 Mississippi (-32.5): Trinidad Chambliss’ 1,219 yards in total offense for the Rebels over his first three starts were most of any QB from Sept. 13-27. Pick: Mississippi 55-20

Florida at No. 5 Texas A&M (-7.5): Florida has scored a total of 17 points in two road games against ranked opponents. Pick: Texas A&M 28-20

No. 6 Oklahoma (+1.5) vs. Texas in Dallas: Sooners are tied for second in the nation with 21 sacks and licking their chops at the prospect of getting after Arch Manning. Pick: Oklahoma 27-21

No. 8 Alabama (-3) at No. 14 Missouri: Tigers haven’t beaten a top-10 team in Columbia since 2010. Pick: Alabama 30-24

Kansas at No. 9 Texas Tech (-13.5): Jayhawks playing against one of the most complete teams in the country. Pick: Texas Tech 45-21

No. 10 Georgia (-3.5) at Auburn: Auburn’s 21 sacks allowed are the most in the country. Pick: Georgia 29-17

South Carolina (+8.5) at No. 11 LSU: Gamecocks think they found their run game against Kentucky in their last game, but … Pick: LSU 24-17

Arkansas (+12.5) at No. 12 Tennessee: Bobby Petrino is back as Arkansas coach, this time on an interim basis. Pick: Tennessee 42-35

Virginia Tech (+14.5) at No. 13 Georgia Tech: Three of the Yellow Jackets’ five wins have been one-score games. Pick: Georgia Tech 33-30

No. 15 Michigan at USC (-2.5): This should be the Wolverines (4-1) last big test before Ohio State on Nov. 29. Pick: USC 26-21

North Carolina State (+22.5) at No. 16 Notre Dame: It’s the battle of the CJs — Wolfpack QB CJ Bailey vs. Fighting Irish QB CJ Carr. Pick: Notre Dame 38-21

No. 18 BYU (-2.5) at Arizona: Arizona and BYU are 1-2 in pass defense in the Big 12. Pick: BYU 21-17

No. 21 Arizona State (+5.5) at Utah: Big 12 rushing leader Raleek Brown, limited last season because of injuries, has been a revelation for the Sun Devils. Pick: Arizona State 27-24

No. 22 Iowa State (-3.5) at Colorado: The Cyclones would love to get their run game going to help out a shorthanded defense. Pick: Iowa State 28-21

No. 24 South Florida (-1) at North Texas: North Texas has its first 5-0 start since 1959 against one of the weakest schedules in the country. Pick: South Florida 31-27

Pittsburgh at No. 25 Florida State (-10.5): Pitt couldn’t have asked for more from freshman QB Mason Heintschel in last week’s win. FSU is a different animal. Pick: Florida State 35-17

Byes: No. 2 Miami, No. 19 Virginia, No. 20 Vanderbilt, No. 23 Memphis.

AP predictions scorecard

Last week: Straight-up — 10-5; Against spread — 8-7.

Season: Straight-up — 79-15; Against spread — 46-48.