Being outscored 139-0 seems a bit lopsided, but the Savannah State program sees it differently.
To the national spotlight, the Tigers looked like a laughing stock, but they should be the ones laughing. They made $860,000 in eight calendar days.
Sounds like a wonderful paycheck, right?
What would you do with $860,000? I wouldn't even need financial aid with that kind of money. I see this as a positive for college football programs. However, this doesn't even compare to the generous amount of the money the Bulls get for playing nationally known teams like Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio State.
It helps showcase your football program in areas where football may be more popular than in Western New York. Secondly, if a smaller school were able to pull off an upset, it is on the national stage against top-notch competition.
Last season, Bulls fans watched Tennessee carve up the Bulls' defense like a Thanksgiving turkey. The Bulls' dream of winning drowned in a sea of orange and white and succumbed to the pressures of Neyland Stadium.
The Bulls were awarded $900,000 to travel to Knoxville, Tenn., whichwas a controversial late replacement road game for Tennessee at the University of North Carolina.
The Bulls wound up losing 41-10 and were overpowered in total yards, 541-264.
As Bulls fans, you might be sitting there wondering why would smaller Division I schools want to play a team they know they will not beat?
Start looking at college football from all angles. Big schools schedule small schools to help increase their win totals. Small schools accept the battering for a payout. As much as we want to think it is all about football, it's truly about business - not for the athletes, but for the colleges.
At the beginning of this season, Buffalo traveled to Georgia to take on the Bulldogs of the prestigious Southeastern Conference. Although the Bulls battled their way through the game, they were not able to overcome the strength and speed of a clearly superior Georgia team.
They would receive yet another hefty paycheck to make up for their loss: $975,000.
Next season, the Bulls will continue to collect money as they head to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Buckeyes, a prolific Big 10 team, for $1 million.
In total, the Bulls will accumulate about $2.9 million between 2011-13.
The same could be said for the FCS schools that get paid to come to UB Stadium with slight hopes of pulling off an upset. From 2010 to 2012, Buffalo paid Rhode Island, Stonybrook and Morgan State a total of $785,000.
Games with scores of 31-0, 35-7 and 56-34 aren't the most exciting to watch, but those are three of the Bulls' six wins in the past three years.
Also, it gives smaller Division I and Division I AA schools the opportunity to fulfill lifelong dreams of playing in stadiums where they once attended football games. A player could catch the eye of an NFL scout in hopes of playing in the league someday.
You get players like Branden Oliver, Alex Neutz and Alex Zordich shining against nationally ranked opponents in hostile environments.
The fact Buffalo was within a touchdown at the half in Sanford Stadium was enough to silence 90,000 red-clad fans, is a huge confidence boost for a huge Mid-American Conference school.
So when you turn on the TV next season to watch Buffalo play against the Buckeyes, just remember that no matter what the score, the Bulls are winning on one level: money.
Email: joseph.konze@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
