ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore saw firsthand the impact the long flight across the country had on his Michigan team last October.
Falling behind 14-0 at Washington, the Wolverines extended themselves trying to play catch up, and eventually did, before allowing the Huskies to score 13 unanswered points in a loss.
“We felt a little groggy, a little slow to start,” Moore said Monday ahead of Michigan’s trip to play USC this Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). “Guys played well — but I just felt like we needed a little (more) time.”
That result, and the lingering effects that come with a long day of flying and changing three time zones, has Michigan changing up its travel routine this week. Instead of flying out a day early for a road game as is customary, the Wolverines will attend class and practice as usual on Thursday before leaving Ann Arbor at night, with the goal of having more time to adjust to the clock in California. Because of the three-hour time difference, Michigan’s game against USC will kickoff shortly after 4:30 p.m. local time.
“We talked to a lot of people in the offseason, and having Wink (Martindale) here with an NFL background,” Moore said. “We’re going to do everything normal Thursday. I know guys would probably want to leave early Thursday, but they need to go to class.”
The late arrival will allow Michigan to sleep in Friday, then conduct the typical pregame walkthrough at “The Bolt,” the Los Angeles Chargers’ new practice facility in El Segundo. The Chargers, who are set to play at Miami this Sunday, are led by former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“There’s another great Michigan connection,” Moore said, calling it “Michigan west.” “We’ll leave Thursday, get there (early) Friday, spend all day Friday and make it as normal as possible for the kids, then play on Saturday.”
A four-hour flight and three-hour time change can be taxing on the human body. Dehydration kicks in. “You don’t really understand where you’re at, what day it is,” Moore said.
Tight end Marlin Klein was on that trip last year to Seattle. An international player from Germany, Klein likes to think he has the travel thing down. But even he knows long flights and skipping multiple time zones can be taxing on the human body.
“It does have a bigger impact than people think on your body, and your mind and your preparation,” Klein said. “It’s great that we fly out on Thursday; it kind of gives us some time to get adjusted to that time zone and be ready to play a game on Saturday.”
Michigan (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) is riding high after a 24-10 win over Wisconsin over the weekend, its third straight victory following a Week 2 loss at Oklahoma. The Wolverines are currently 2.5-point underdogs according to oddsmakers, a line likely impacted by the perceived travel factor.
The Wolverines hope the early arrival in Los Angeles helps negate some of that. They’ll have to bounce back quickly, too: Their Oct. 18 home game against Washington was assigned a 12 p.m. kickoff time.