At Seattle to play Washington, at North Carolina.

At Boston College, at Baltimore to take on Navy.

Then at USC, and now here for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday.

A total of 19,618 miles, as the charter jet flies.

A lot of distance for Notre Dame football, which had to go to all of these places from South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish also bused it to East Lansing to play Michigan State.

A lot of klicks to cover to win two games and lose four, and now tangle with the toughest homefield advantage in college football.

“;It does have physical effects on you,”; said cornerback Terrail Lambert, blinking in the midday sun after an Aloha Stadium practice yesterday.

Wait a second—this is the wrong place to moan even a little about the rigors of travel. Hold on while Greg McMackin and his team that plays you this week tune up the world's tiniest ukulele.

Notre Dame, Hawaii feels your plane—and more.

The Warriors went back and forth to the mainland five times this season, including once all the way to Gainesville, Fla. That's twice as far in itself as any trip Notre Dame made before Friday.

Hawaii totaled 38,173 miles.

A Fighting Irish official said he thinks that with this trip, Notre Dame will have traveled more miles than any other continental college football team (”;We don't even count Hawaii,”; he said).

OK.

Well, how about Louisiana Tech? Did the fellas from Ruston get to enjoy those tiny pillows as much as the Fighting Irish?

The Bulldogs went to Kansas, Boise State, Hawaii, Army, San Jose State and New Mexico State. Using the geobytes.com city distance tool, as I did for Notre Dame and UH, the total is 19,378—closer to Notre Dame's total than the Minnesota senatorial election.

LaTech won at San Jose State and New Mexico State to earn a bowl bid—close to home in Shreveport, La. ... and almost enough miles down the interstate to call for a recount.

So, the Bulldogs learned to deal with the rigors of the road as the season went along. Perhaps the Fighting Irish have, too.

“;We just try to take everything in stride. In between the lines, you just go to work,”; Lambert said.

It's just part of playing for Notre Dame, an independent, national program.

“;This is not difficult at all,”; safety Kyle McCarthy said. “;We're ready and we know what we have to do.”;

Still quite the extreme. Something most other college football teams can't even begin to relate to.

Unless of course, that team is the Hawaii Warriors.

And all that travel for UH over the years has made home that much sweeter. Hawaii barely lost to Notre Dame in two Aloha Stadium meetings in the 1990s.

The Warriors have been close to unbeatable at home in recent years, and the Fighting Irish are aware of it. So are the bookmakers, who have installed UH as a slim favorite Wednesday.

“;Hawaii is 20-3 the last three years here,”; Notre Dame kicker Brandon Walker said. “;We know what we're up against and we know a win would give us great momentum for next year.”;