During its trip to Notre Dame this weekend, USC is creating a new meaning to a "time-consuming drive."
Over their 60-hour journey to the Midwest and back, the Trojans will be in three time zones, adding a challenging element to an already lengthy trip to Notre Dame.
The Trojans depart LAX on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific time on a charter flight and arrive in South Bend, Ind., around 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. They then bus 40 miles to their hotel in Michigan City, Ind., and should arrive around 9:30 p.m. -- Central time.
Then on Friday, the Trojans conduct a morning practice in the Central time zone in Michigan City prior to returning to South Bend and the Eastern time zone for an afternoon walk-thru at Notre Dame Stadium. Then they head back to their hotel and the Central time zone for eve-of-game meetings.
Saturday, the team wakes up in the Central time zone before busing to the Eastern time zone, where the game starts at 3:42 p.m. Because of the time difference, USC will depart its hotel at 11:50 a.m. (Central time) and arrive at Notre Dame Stadium at 1:50 p.m. (Eastern time). The Trojans fly out of South Bend Regional Airport and are scheduled to arrive back in the Pacific time zone around 10:45 p.m.
The logistics of juggling the different time zones is easier than it looks, director of football operations Matt Capurro said. Players are given itineraries with exact times, adjusted for the local time zones, so the schedule is as clear as can be.
"It's not hard to deal with since everything is figured out ahead of time," Capurro said.
So for those keeping score at home, that's three time zones, two days and one game. What a unique trip the Trojans have in front of them.
Michigan City, where the Trojans are staying this weekend, is in the Central time zone, while South Bend, where Notre Dame is located, is in the Eastern time zone. The time-zone shuffling adds a unique element to this weekend's trip.
