Talking Points: Pay day for colleges

What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here’s an item that will have people talking:

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Saturday, being the first big day of the season, was payday in college football.

According to Darren Rovell of CNBC, Akron was paid $850,000 for the right to lose 42-0 to Ohio State, and Louisiana-Monroe received $1.3 million for the honor of a 34-0 loss at Florida State. Those paydays can be crucial for smaller programs trying to make ends meet, and they can provide an easy win for elite programs.

Sometimes there are sacrificial lambs that fight back: Auburn squeaked out a last-second win over Utah State, and Purdue barely beat Middle Tennessee.

And then there’s Oregon State, which paid lower-division Sacramento State to visit Corvallis. We aren’t sure how much the Beavers paid. We are sure it was too much.

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