By now, Oregon State has flown across the country, adapted to a three-hour time difference and settled into foreign territory in preparation for today's game against Penn State.

All in the span of about three days.

"When you first get here, you're kind of up because of the time difference," Penn State cornerback Lydell Sargeant said. "I'm sure they're going to come a day or two early, because the next day, you're really tired. Your mental clock's off a little bit."

For some of Oregon State's players, like wide receiver Shane Morales, it will be just his fourth trip to the East Coast in his lifetime. He is originally from California.

Both Penn State and Oregon State have routines that, in some form or another, are designed to help players like Morales settle quickly.

Comforts of home

This is Mike Riley's second stint as head coach at Oregon State. When he coached two years from 1997-98, Riley kept his team in Salem, Ore., a town about 40 miles off campus in Corvallis, Ore., on Friday nights before home games.

Dennis Erickson shifted the location to a Ramada Inn in Corvallis when he coached the team from 1999-2002, and the Beavers stayed at that hotel until it went bankrupt in 2003.

Oregon State currently stays at a Comfort Inn in Albany, Ore., which is 20 miles off campus.

"No other hotel could accommodate us with meeting room space," Oregon State director of football operations Dan Van De Riet said.

Before leaving for the hotel Friday nights, Oregon State does a last-minute walk through and has a team meal.

After arriving, the Beavers quickly review special teams, offense and defense in team meetings, eat a quick snack and have an 11 p.m. bed check when the trainers go around checking on injuries or illnesses.

Saturday's wake-up call varies depending on the time of game. For a late afternoon game, such as today's game against Penn State, players wake up around 10 or 11 a.m. If it's an early game, the wake-up call is around 8 a.m.

Interaction with fans is minimal since Oregon State occupies most of the Comfort Inn on Friday nights. If family is in town, the visits must be done in the hotel lobby as Riley doesn't want anyone except players in the room.

"I think personally, you've got a lot of coaches whose careers and jobs depend on winning games," Van De Riet said. "They're dependent on a bunch of youth to stay focused and get the job done. It's a preventative measure to be home in bed at a decent hour. There's a lot of outside influences, and it's a good way to keep the team focused and together off-campus and prepared for Saturday."

Oregon State on the road

Four years ago, Oregon State opened up at LSU, the defending national champion. LSU was ranked No. 3 in the country at the time, and Oregon State was unranked.

Oregon State nearly pulled off the upset in primetime but lost, 22-21, in double overtime before 91,828 fans and ESPN's national television audience.

"It was one of the most amazing games and crowds I was ever a part of," Van De Riet said.

Everything afterward went downhill.

On the way to Corvallis, something went awry with the local airport in Eugene, Ore., which is 45 miles away. The plane had to be diverted to Portland, Ore., which nearly doubled the travel time.

It took an hour and a half for the busses to be transferred from Eugene. It took another hour and a half to wait around in the airport, load the busses and begin the 90-minute ride home.

"I remember we got to Albany, and you could see the sun coming up," Van De Riet said. "It was something I don't really care to remember."

That trip to LSU was the worst Van De Riet has experienced in his eight years at Oregon State, though other traveling issues have popped up. In 2000, when the team traveled to New Mexico State, the plane had a flat tire, and Oregon State waited for one to be shipped in from El Paso, Texas.

"You hope the things that do happen are out of your control and not necessarily due to a lack of preparation," Van De Riet said. "That's the ultimate goal."

Van De Riet pointed out several distinctions with traveling to Penn State, which will be the longest trip in Oregon State history.

For starters, the luxury of trucking equipment as Oregon State does for Pac-10 games is unreasonable. If this was Oregon State's season opener, Van De Riet and the equipment crew might have the time to pack everything up and bus it to State College.

But Oregon State played at Stanford last Thursday.

One advantage to that is Oregon State has an extra day or two of preparation in advance of this weekend's trip.

Minor complications also arise from a five-hour flight instead of a short trip to a West Coast school. Usually, Oregon State practices in the morning, eats a big meal, stays hydrated and eats snacks on the plane.

For this trip, Oregon State used all day Thursday to travel. The team also catered a meal on the plane.

Van De Riet is hoping the plane shows movies and has warmers to keep the meals hot, but in an era where airlines are looking for ways to save weight and cut down on fuel costs, he knows it is no given.

"In the past, it was no big deal," he said. "Every plane had them."

Otherwise, the routine traveling for a road game is nearly the same as a home game.

Except for one caveat.

"At home, it's easy," Van De Riet said. "Everything is right where it is. You aren't moving a training room or equipment room or a whole other town."

Oregon State will have the time zone in its favor.

"Instead of landing at 5 a.m., we'll land at 2 a.m.," Van De Riet said. "Even though we'll be dead tired when we get home, at least we'll have the clock going for us."

The sun won't be rising in Corvallis at 2 a.m., either.

"Exactly," Van De Riet said, laughing.

Penn State road games

Like Oregon State, Penn State has a similar tale of heartbreak and travel anguish interwoven into one forgettable trip.

Penn State's unbeaten season was on the line in 2005, and quarterback Michael Robinson had just completed a comeback drive that put the Nittany Lions in the lead.

Penn State decided to kick off to Steve Breaston. Lloyd Carr successfully lobbied for the officials to put more time on the clock, and, well, the rest doesn't need to be said.

On the way home, Penn State's flight was delayed three hours because of a computer problem with the airplane.

Somehow, someone found a way to set up a video game system in a private airport, so the team passed the time by playing NCAA football.

Derrick Williams broke his arm that day and was in a cast.

He was still beating people.

One-handed.

Most road trips go smoother.

"To tell you the truth, every trip seems the same," defensive lineman Jared Odrick said. "Every trip seems cool. Everybody likes it. It all depends on how we land in that airplane. Landing can do a lot to people on our team. If we have a rough landing on that plane, I don't know about going home."

Back in Happy Valley

Home is where Penn State finds itself this weekend, and, as per tradition, the team stays at Toftrees on Friday nights.

Dominick Morgante, who has worked the front desk at Toftrees for a year, said Penn State's players occupy 25 of the hotel's 102 rooms. The coaching staff takes up another five rooms.

The rooms, he said, are all standard. No bells and whistles, just two beds in a non-smoking room with one bathroom and a television.

His interaction with the team is minimal. He and other staff members may bump into players when the workers set out razors, shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste Friday nights, but, otherwise, the team keeps to itself.

"They're some of the quietest guests we have," Morgante said. "Joe Pa's really got them under control."

There's a good reason for that.

After Friday meetings, a team dinner and a few hours at their apartments, the team heads to Toftrees and attends another two-and-a-half hour meeting before players go to their rooms.

Odrick said the wake-up call for last Saturday's noon start was 7 a.m., and Toftrees sets up a buffet breakfast exclusive to the football team before the game.

Penn State doesn't have a strict curfew, Odrick said, because players hang out in their room anyway.

Aside from watching late film, Odrick described Friday nights at Toftrees as largely uneventful.

"We'll all hang out in our room, relax and go to sleep," he said.

"A lot of times, that's some of the best sleep we'll get all week."