287 East? I Thought You Said Weast! The Influence of Travel on College Football Team Performance

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Previous research in professional basketball and baseball has shown that traveling up to three hours westward can hamper performance due to circadian disadvantages. However, findings in the context of collegiate football are conflicting, as some prior studies have reported negative effects on scoring during either eastward or westward travel. The current study extends the literature by investigating the impact of travel on both offensive and defensive team performance within National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college football. Methods Following the NCAA’s introduction of the College Football Playoff in 2014, data from 1,909 away games from 64 “Power Five” conference teams played during the 2014 to 2019 regular seasons were collected from the publicly available sports database, Sports-Reference. For the purposes of our analyses, we excluded all games played at neutral sites. We examined the effects of the direction of travel away from the college’s home city and time of game day on visiting team performance, specifically game outcomes, points scored, points allowed, completion percentages, penalties, fumbles, interceptions, and total turnovers forced and committed, controlling for both visiting and home team conference, day of game, and team rankings. Results Teams playing in the afternoon allowed significantly more points (OR = 1.05, p < .001) and forced more opponent turnovers than those playing in the evening (OR = 1.14, p = .05). Teams traveling eastward threw significantly more interceptions than those traveling in the same time zone (OR = 1.48, p = .004). A significant interaction between direction of travel and time of day was detected for points allowed (χ2 = 12.30, p = .02), and a marginal interaction was present for points scored (χ2 = 8.42, p = .08). Several other marginal differences were also identified for points scored, interceptions, and team turnovers (OR > 1.03, p < .10). Conclusion Findings from our study offer evidence for the influence of circadian factors on team points allowed, interceptions, and opponent turnovers forced. Specifically, travel in varying directions and the time of day when a game is played can impact team performance during away games within college football. Support (if any) None