Will USC & UCLA ever actually be forced to play an outdoor "cold weather" Big Ten football game in mid/late Nov?
Read an interesting comment today that USC and UCLA might be able to arrange their schedules such that they either play each other, home non-con, or other games such they will never need to worry about playing outdoor mid/late Nov games in the "cold weather" locales. It makes sense, but also seems an underhanded way to avoid some tough road games.
Would the Big Ten schedulers allow it? Probably.
October 11th, 2023 at 5:54 PM ^
Maybe.
October 11th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
Maybe not.
October 12th, 2023 at 6:05 AM ^
Debatable
October 12th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
I could see it happening. Or not.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:03 PM ^
Forgot to add in OP:
The biggest justification for allowing this will be that the Big Ten can now fill the evening tv slots in mid/late Nov this way.
Also, WA and OR do not truly count as "cold weather" in November (hardly ever below freezing).
October 11th, 2023 at 7:01 PM ^
deleted. Nittany Fan provided similar details first.
October 11th, 2023 at 10:01 PM ^
[Deleted]
October 11th, 2023 at 9:46 PM ^
USC has played at ND in Nov.(ish) every other year since the dawn of time. They don't appear to be scheduling away from cold weather.
October 11th, 2023 at 10:10 PM ^
USC hasn’t played at ND in November since the 1950s. The game is in October when it’s at ND and at season’s end when it’s at SC.
October 11th, 2023 at 11:37 PM ^
It’s in the contract with ND. USC will not play in South Bend later than the third weekend in October.
I’d enjoy seeing USC or UCLA in the Big House in November.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:13 PM ^
loved that game. Deveon smith willing us to victory. Took the 3 middle sons. It was so much fun.
October 11th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
I've seen plenty of shitty weather in the Midwest in October as well. 45 degrees with rain and wind won't be fun for them either. Welcome to the B1G. Leave your sunscreen at home.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:03 PM ^
Or bring the sunscreen because you never know.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:04 PM ^
Let's see them play in the snow or driving sleet.
October 11th, 2023 at 9:40 PM ^
We know that certain team from ohio cannot.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:22 AM ^
Or in a flurry, with the flu.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:10 PM ^
Hell, it's 58 with a chilly rain in BR right now. I don't remember it ever being like this in early October. I broke out my hoodie and will be drinking some hot cider tonight.
SEC teams would be panicking if it stayed like this over the weekend.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:43 PM ^
What’s BR?
October 11th, 2023 at 6:48 PM ^
Going off my spidey sense (and by that I mean reading the poster's username) I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Baton Rouge
October 11th, 2023 at 7:00 PM ^
Sorry, gobluem had it right. BR = Baton Rouge. The Dirty.
October 12th, 2023 at 12:02 AM ^
ah, I thought BR was the thriving metropolis of Big Rapids
October 11th, 2023 at 11:38 PM ^
Red Stick
October 12th, 2023 at 9:59 AM ^
Pretty sure BR is Bull Run. But my guess is you're from the south, so you likely refer to it as Manassas.
It's a fairly common confusion.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:23 AM ^
Really? That cold in Boca Raton?
October 12th, 2023 at 6:33 AM ^
It will be great for college football to have USC/UCLA play some mid to late Nov road games in the Midwest/Northeast. That would pique the curiosity of a lot of fans. If it were this year, how interesting would it be to see Caleb Williams play in one of those games in Happy Valley during a blizzard? It will be a disservice to college football if they schedule around it.
October 12th, 2023 at 8:39 AM ^
I get your point and agree that it would be fun to see how the vaunted USC offense would handle it, but how often does PSU play in blizzards at home?
Of course it's more possible than it happening in southern California, but it's still a pretty rare occasion.
October 11th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
Screw them - weather is all a part of home field advantage. If we have to shed our down jackets to visit LA then they can man up and come North in November. They never had special arrangements with the Washington and Oregon teams and the weather can get cold there. It this thought is coming from the schools themselves, then they will fit right in with soft-ass OSU.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:24 PM ^
OSU is volunteering for the forever West Coast road trip in November and lobbying for the Michigan game to be played annually in the Las Vegas stadium.
October 12th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
The weather in OR and WA is significantly warmer (+20 degrees) in October and November than it is in MI.
But I agree on the "man up" sentiment. They sound like a bunch of pansies ducking the cold weather. They certainly aren't helping their players that will inevitably move on to the NFL and have to play in places like Greenbay, Philadelphia or Foxboro.
October 12th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
Southern California might be 20 degrees warmer than us, but the Pacific Northwest isn't.
The high today in Ann Arbor is 61. It'll get cooler this weekend but then be in the upper 50s next week.
People who have left the state seem to only remember the extreme weather events and forget what it's actually like on a daily basis. In October we generally have classic fall weather. November gets chillier but freezing temps aren't too common, at least not until around Thanksgiving.
We also get much less precipitation than the Pacific Northwest in November. They get absolutely dumped on that month.
October 12th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
"The weather in OR and WA is significantly warmer (+20 degrees) in October and November than it is in MI. "
No, it isn't... not even close.
October average high:
Ann Arbor: 62F
Eugene: 65F
Seattle: 60F
November average high:
Ann Arbor: 48F
Eugene: 54F
Seattle: 49F
October 12th, 2023 at 5:27 PM ^
Yeah, playing in Eugene in November at night when it’s 40F and raining? Give me 32 and snow any day.
October 12th, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
Two points: First round playoff games next year will give northern teams a climate advantage if they choose it. Such teams will be able to choose between home stadiums or nearby domed arenas for such games.
Teams ranked 5-12 would be subject to potential opening game weather games. After that, bowl sites would determine scheduling.
If you're a college player and you expect to play as a pro, you will be subject to varying weather conditions on NFL gameday no matter who drafts you and what team you play for. Northeast teams don't have domed stadiums and play into January.
October 14th, 2023 at 2:44 AM ^
"If you're a college player and you expect to play as a pro, you will be subject to varying weather conditions on NFL gameday no matter who drafts you and what team you play for. Northeast teams don't have domed stadiums and play into January."
EXACTLY.
All of the players whining about the weather should realize that all they're doing is putting themselves at a disadvantage in the NFL, should they make it. Might as well learn to deal with the cold early instead of living somewhere where it's 70 and sunny 300 days out of the year.
October 11th, 2023 at 5:59 PM ^
Fuck that. They can go join the SEC if that's important to them
October 11th, 2023 at 6:01 PM ^
They'll each have 1-2 road games (outside of the USC/UCLA game itself) every November - you can book it.
I tend to think "they won't be able to play in Midwest weather" is an over-rated aspect of their move. The Pacific Northwest spots aren't that much different than B1G country in November. They've seen this sort of thing before. And besides, it's not perpetually 70 degrees+ in LA either.
Averages for November (per Wiki):
- Ann Arbor, MI: High 48/Low 31.
- Chicago, IL: High 49/Low 35.
- Columbus, OH: High 52/Low 35.
- Minneapolis, MN: High 42/Low 28.
- Eugene, OR: High 53/Low 38.
- Seattle, WA: High 52/Low 41.
- Pullman, WA: High 45/Low 33.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:05 PM ^
How often do they play in snow, sleet, or freezing rain in Eugene or Seattle?
You notice than almost none of those PAC locations actually get below freezing (and snowfall data is not included - see me comment below).
October 11th, 2023 at 6:08 PM ^
How often do BIG TEN teams play in snow, freezing rain or sleet in November?
I know we remember various games --- Indiana @ Michigan in 2016 had some snow, OSU @ Michigan in 2021 as well (PSU @ MSU also on the same day), that Michigan @ Iowa game where it was 15 degrees and Brady Hoke still wouldn't wear a jacket, Michigan @ PSU in 1995 came a couple days after a 20-inch snowstorm --- but it's still not an "every year" sort of thing.
I do remember a USC @ Oregon State game in the Pete Carroll era that was played in freezing FOG. Like it was 38 degrees and the fog was freezing onto the astroturf. USC won that one easily.
October 11th, 2023 at 6:19 PM ^
Around the Big Ten in general - it happens at least once almost every year (often more frequently). Not usually *snow*, but some form of cold & gunky weather (i.e. near or below freezing) that makes certain actions requiring fine motor skills with exposed hands more difficult. It has an effect on morale as well - a few years ago there was a Pinstripe Bowl (outdoors in NYC) between Wisc and Miami-FL. Just watching that game it was obvious that the Miami players did not want to be there and hated the cold (it was 20s or 30s as I recall, but no precipitation). Wisconsin dominated them despite not being a great team that year (Miami had been favored by stats & metrics).
October 11th, 2023 at 7:17 PM ^
If you allow me to use anecdotes, I will be happy to prove to you the world is flat.
Half the PAC has weather virtually identical to Ann Arbor in November, except precipitation is twice as likely in OR/WA as MI.
This is a bad post not supported by data. In addition to being ill informed, the OP stereotypes all warm weather teams as soft, and all B1G teams as tough. Is that you, Ryan Day?
October 11th, 2023 at 7:52 PM ^
You might want to parse the actual statements made before jumping to generalizations and judgment.
You want data? OK.
November averages:
Ann Arbor: Hi 48, Lo 33 Snow 5.3" (hello lake effect)
Madison: Hi 46 Lo 27 Snow 2.9"
Minneapolis: Hi 44 Lo 27 Snow 4.0"
State College: Hi 49 Lo 33 Snow 1.5"
Columbus: Hi 53 Lo 34 Snow 1.2"
Los Angeles: Hi 73 Lo 53 Snow 0.0"
Seattle: Hi 51 Low 43 Snow 0.0"
Eugene: Hi 53 Low 38 Snow 0.4"
Palo Alto: Hi 64 Low 43 Snow 0.0"
Berkely: Hi 64 Low 48 Snow 0.0"
Pullman: Hi 44 Lo 31 Snow 2.7"
Out of the traditional PAC locales (since Boulder and SLC were barely in the PAC for more than a decade or so), the only place *even close* to Midwest November climate is Pullman, WA... and most of those matchups were Sept/Oct (of the few times they played in Nov, it was usually in LA).
October 11th, 2023 at 8:09 PM ^
Ann Arbor: Hi 48, Lo 33 Snow 5.3" (hello lake effect)
Southeast Michigan doesn't get much, if any, lake-effect snow. It's West Michigan that gets it.
October 11th, 2023 at 8:15 PM ^
Data from average of 2010-2019 precipitation for Ann Arbor: https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Michigan/Places/ann-arbor-snowfall-totals-snow-accumulation-averages.php
November snowfall average: 5.3"
Annual snowfall average: 61.8"
As someone who likes to watch radar weather maps... those lake effect snowclouds do extend over the entire state. The effect is more pronounced in west Michigan, but it does still hit SE Michigan.
October 11th, 2023 at 8:16 PM ^
You said "hello lake effect."
We get some snow, but it has nothing to do with Lake Michigan.
October 11th, 2023 at 8:33 PM ^
It does, just not as severe (still additive).
One example of the lake effect going almost all the way across the state:
October 11th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
we had this past weekend of lake effect rain all across the entire state. our winds whip up that high and all it takes is colder air going over warmer water and bingo, 'hello lake effect'.
October 12th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
SE Michigan gets some lake effect snow - sometimes from Lake Michigan, sometimes from Lake Huron, and sometimes from Lake Erie.
October 11th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
You choose to arbitrarily eliminate Corvallis, SLC, and Boulder as "non traditional" PAC locations, but yet you include State College for the B1G. You are selecting the anecdotes that fit your narrative.