The complications of the Crimson state has forced Eastern to prepare for its weekend matchup with Jacksonville State in the most interesting way.

Director of athletics Rich McDuffie announced before the Panthers played a game that Eastern would be flying down to Jacksonville, Ala., the morning of its 4 p.m. contest.

This is the first time the squad will be traveling to a road game the day of the event.

With this plan, Eastern puts itself in limbo with regards to getting to the game and, once it arrives, how it plans to change its gameday preparations.

The first thought that comes into mind is if weather doesn’t permit Eastern to travel on Saturday, the Panthers would be charged with a forfeiture and fall to 4-7.

Eastern head coach Bob Spoo has no idea how this gameday plan will physically or mentally affect his team.

“I really couldn’t tell you how it will pan out, but I guess we’ll have to find out this weekend,” Spoo said.

The Panther coaching staff is trying to downplay the travel plans to their team and attempting to focus on the concept of defeating the Ohio Valley Conference leader.

“We our trying to explain to our young men that it’s just another ball game and we are preparing just like that,” offensive coordinator John Carr said.

Eastern’s itinerary for game day will be similar to any other road game with a rushed attitude as they get off the plane.

“Everybody will have enough time to get taped up and ready to go as we get to Alabama,” Carr said.

The only possible difference will be the lack of a pre-game walkthrough the day before the contest. This part of the preparation could prove to be useful as the Panthers have never stepped foot on the field of Snow Memorial Stadium.

“The players will have plenty of time to walk around on the grass surface and find a comfort zone when it comes to game time,” Carr said.

This contest will be the final road trip for the Panthers this season and are hoping to avoid every distraction on the road to a possible upset victory.

“We hope they understand the objective every time we go on the road to compete,” Carr said.