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 1/2-point favorite and losing at UCLA as a 24 1/2-point favorite.

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

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