In a faraway land and a time that only exists after East Coasters lay their heads on the pillows exists a phenomenon known as the Pac-12 After Dark effect.

It occurs often, but is largely misunderstood by the population that sees it most closely. In person and on TV, it’s a beautiful mess of Hail Marys and 80-point football games that only come out when the sun goes down.

Like "The Upside Down" from "Stranger Things," it still looks and sounds like football while also appearing nothing like football, a strange -- and often more exciting -- shadow of the game.

Two seasons ago, in a season with the first College Football Playoff and the desire to watch other conferences grew, more people from Atlanta and New York and Texas tuned in -- coffee in hand -- to watch these bizarre Pac-12 masterpieces play out.

A Twitter revolution was born -- #Pac12AfterDark.

According to Twitter, the hashtag first appeared on Oct. 11, 2014 -- a day in which USC upset No. 10 Arizona in a 10:30 p.m. EST kick. Since that date, the hashtag has been used more than 56,000 times to describe both the chaos and unpredictable, high-scoring trend of the Pac-12’s late games.

#Pac12AfterDark saw its peak usage between Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 2015 -- being tweeted more than 7,600 times -- as Oregon defeated Arizona State in triple overtime. The teams combined for 116 points and 1,241 yards.

The message to the East Coast was clear: Sorry about the time change, but you probably shouldn’t go to bed early because the Pac-12 doesn’t even get started until you’re getting sleepy.

Not sure of that? The games are almost always closer and more high-scoring at night than anywhere else in the country.

The games this year back that theory up more than ever.

Big Offense In Wee Hours Percentage of Power 5 conference games with both teams scoring 30 points or more in the 2016 college football season. Note: #Pac12After Dark denotes a Pac-12 game with a kickoff time at 9 p.m. ET or later. Conference Pct. Big 12 34% #Pac12AfterDark 33% ACC 21% Big Ten 17% Other Pac-12 16% SEC 15% ESPN Stats & Information

Maybe it means Pac-12 offenses are supercharged late at night. Maybe it means defenses disappear when the sun goes down. Maybe there’s another explanation all together.

But like the "Stranger Things" kids, it left the Pac-12 Blog feeling baffled and searching for answers. It was time to embark on a search for our own Demogorgon that would hopefully reveal the answers.

These are some theories as to what we found.

The Sleep Theory

Late kicks obviously mean that players don’t need to wake up early, and considering a lot of college students tend to stay up later, a later game means that football players still might get a full night’s sleep.

But players -- because they are humans -- are also split as morning people and night owls. As that would have an impact on any person in their daily life, it could also affect a football player based on game time.

In 2011, the Martha Jefferson Hospital Sleep Medicine Center conducted a study involving 16 MLB players.

The study found that players who were “morning types” had a higher batting average (.267) than players who were “evening types” (.259) in early games that started before 2 p.m. However, evening types had a higher batting average (.261) than morning types (.252) in midday games that started between 2 p.m. and 7:59 p.m. This advantage for evening types persisted and was strongest in late games that began at 8 p.m. or later, when evening types had a .306 batting average and morning types maintained a .252 average.

Dr. W. Chris Winter, a neurologist and sleep psychologist who was the lead investigator on that study, explained that a later kickoff actually would favor younger college athletes.

“A chronotype is the idea that people have different tendencies toward performance at different times of the day,” Winter told ESPN.com. “When you look at college students in general, they tend to be more night-oriented as a rule. As you get older, you tend to progress to become more morning-oriented. ... I think it’s very likely that a lot of players on these teams are probably night-oriented.”

Does this mean that more morning-oriented players tend to be on defense, making their production lesser during the late kicks and more favorable for early kicks? Or that there are more night-oriented players on the offensive side of the ball, pushing the scoring up in those #Pac12AfterDark games?

It could. But it’s also difficult to prove without a mass study of college football players.

Mythbuster rating: Plausible

Washington State and Cal combined for 119 points in their Oct. 4, 2014 meeting in Pullman, Washington. The teams meet again Saturday night. AP Photo/Dean Hare

The Moon Theory

Scientific studies have also found that human physiology and behavior are correlated to lunar cycles. Some researchers have discovered that lunar cycles have an impact on everything from traffic accidents to human reproduction to hospital admittance rates.

So, why not football players and their performances?

Well, basing it on a lunar presence would be one thing, but basing it on a lunar cycle would mean that the impact was more based on what type of moon was in the sky. The lunar cycle is 29.5 days, so this would imply that play would be improved or diminished during certain phases -- new moon, full moon, waning crescent -- over the course of a month rather than at certain times of day. There doesn’t appear to be that kind of correlation.

Joe Rao, an associate at New York’s Hayden Planetarium, said that his best guess as to the increased scoring output is that it’s likely a coincidence or just player preference.

“Maybe the football players feel more exhilarated playing underneath the stars,” Rao said.

Mythbuster rating: Mostly busted

Luke Falk and Mike Leach seem to be at their prolific best in night games, and they'll be taking aim at lighting up the scoreboard against Cal on Saturday night. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

The Leach Theory

Whenever discussing anything of great philosophical depth, it would be unfair to not reach out to the conference’s (and arguably college football’s) greatest philosopher: Washington State coach Mike Leach.

Leach’s theory actually combines the previous two theories quite well, with a bit of Leach addition as well.

“Is it possible it’s the teams selected?” Leach asked.

That seems quite plausible, considering the high-scoring Washington State and Cal offenses have both played in five #Pac12AfterDark kickoffs this season. That doesn’t necessarily explain why their opponents have scored in the 30-range so often, especially when it’s more than what those teams score on an average basis, but it’s important to note.

“For a 1 o'clock game you’re up at 7:30 a.m. ... I’d think at 1 o'clock, you could be a bit lethargic,” Leach said. “I’ve always been a night person. My mom was a night person. But I do think college students are more night-oriented and environments at night are very exciting. Part of it is because fans have tailgated all day and look forward to it -- they’re louder and drunker. The other thing at night is that there’s a cool feel to it. It might be colder than you like at times, but you have the stars and the whole thing and the mist around the light posts. There’s a cool vibe at night. I don’t know. I wish I had a good answer. I’d like to know on several levels.”

Mythbuster rating: Plausible

Leach won’t have to wait long for another chance at cracking the code as to what makes #Pac12AfterDark possible as his team has a late kickoff against Cal (10:30 p.m., ESPN) on Saturday night.

His team is tied with Cal for the most late kicks in the Pac-12 this year and in those games, the Cougars are averaging 38.4 points. The Bears are averaging 37.6.

The last time these two met for a #Pac12AfterDark kick in Pullman, they combined for an absurd 119 points and 1,401 yards. And Washington State lost on a 19-yard field goal, which sounds even more absurd.

This year, the game features two of the most prolific Power 5 passers in the country in Davis Webb and Luke Falk, as well as a bit of history between these teams and coaches.

Sounds like peak #Pac12AfterDark possibilities for 2016, no?

So, we’ll see you there. Bring some coffee, East Coasters.