Deonte' Hurst is convinced a long road trip to this place called Azusa Pacific University in the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa is the ideal start for the 2014 Grand Valley State football team.

"You get on the road, get away from your comfort zone and we can focus on us," said the senior linebacker from Kentwood.

"It's a team bonding in a way, but really a focus on us as a group so we can come together as a team and hold everybody accountable. The coaches will put us in the right places to play and from there we should be able to stay focused and make it happen."

Go west young men. On to California to bond as you focus on making it happen.

Last year the Lakers opened with a 38-17 win over Azusa Pacific, and it included the adrenalin and emotion provided by having 13,659 friends cheering for the boys in Laker blue as they built a 24-0 lead by halftime.

This time, the fans will be cheering for the other guys.  The Cougars will be home, in their comfort zone ready to ambush the invaders East with a strong start.

Matt Mitchell, the head coach of the Lakers, admitted he would normally fret about such stuff, especially for a season-opening game. This year's Lakers are a little different animal. They have the experience of reaching the NCAA Division II semifinals last year, which included attention-grabbing road trips to Pueblo, Colo., and Northwest Missouri State.

"Had we not gone on the road twice and played in some really hostile environments against tough teams, I'd be a little more worried, but we have so many guys who have played in those games back that we have to pull from that. We lost the last game (at Northwest Missouri), but we took a charter flight, had national TV coverage like this one. We have that experience. We're starting where we left off in a way."

The winningest program in Division II history's latest team can handle the road, The CBS Sports Network TV lights, all that.

The point here: the spotlight is not a stranger to the program or this bunch.

Mitchell's worries are centered with the real x and o football stuff they will encounter out West and most notably the left-handed senior quarterback, Nick Owens, who can throw and run and is coming off a medical redshirt season.

"What is the feel we should have for him?" Mitchell said. "That's the kind of thing I worry about him. We have very little tape, maybe 15 plays. We know they have a great running back (Terrell Watson). We've seen him. We respect him. We have a feel for him and know what he can do to us.

"We just don't know the quarterback. If I worry about something, it's that. The rest of the things I know with this group we will be ready for it and we will deal with it."

As for playing on a Thursday night (6 p.m. in L.A., 9 p.m. in West Michigan), the Lakers were able to simply shift the normal game schedule because it is the season-opener.  In other words, Monday was actually a Wednesday; Tuesday was a Thursday and so on until Thursday is Saturday night under the lights.

It's a big game. Azusa, now in its first non-probation year after switching from NAIA to NCAA Division II three years ago, was ranked No. 22 in the preseason polls and is fully aware the loss to Grand Valley last year surely helped ace them out of the national playoff picture despite a 10-2 record.

Likewise, the game could have playoff implications for the Lakers, who were ranked No. 2 in the same polls. Grand Valley, as always in pursuit of championships including the national title, could lay an egg on the road to start the season and likely still recover and perhaps reach lofty goals at the end of the year. It's just not guaranteed, or the recommended method.

When Hurst said get it done, he meant win.  When Mitchell said his team could deal with it, he meant win.  The Lakers lost that last game in Northwest Missouri last year, 27-13 in the semifinals and Hurst and several of his teammates remember the long trip home. Grand Valley's sixth-year quarterback, Heath Parling, said it best.

"Success is a game-by-game thing," he said. "Success this week is a win and our focus is not on where it happens, but that we make it happen."