Wakey wakey! USC will be up early to stretch and prepare for action this Saturday in Boulder, Colorado. Journalists will be in the press box at Folsom Field by 7 a.m. local time. The game will start just after 10 a.m. local time. That’s just after 9 a.m. Pacific time.
When USC moves to the Big Ten next year, the Trojans will play a few 9 a.m. Pacific time games each season on Fox Big Noon Saturday. This particular Big Noon game probably came as a surprise to some people inside the USC football program. A game starting just after 10 a.m. local time? That’s very rare.
Also keep in mind that USC hasn’t played a game this season which started before 3:30 p.m. Pacific. That’s the earliest kickoff USC has had through four games. Also, USC’s last two games were both late-night (7:30 p.m. Pacific) kickoffs.
The body-clock question is real. It has ambushed other Pac-12 teams playing early in the morning in other time zones. Is USC ready for this? We asked our Pac-12 football panel: