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UCLA doled out a lot of cash this weekend for its football team.
The Bruins dropped to 0–3 on the season after losing to New Mexico 35–10 on Friday in a game they paid the Lobos $1.2 million to play in. The win marked New Mexico’s first win over a Power conference team in 17 years.
Over the weekend, the school fired head coach and former standout player DeShaun Foster less than a year and a half into his tenure. UCLA will pay his buyout, which is more than $5 million, as a result.
The Lobos were a payout game for the Bruins, which is also known as a buy game or guarantee game, where a Power-4 school pays one from the FCS or Group of 4 level for a game they’d be heavily favored to win.
Plenty of schools have lost payout games over the years, most notably Michigan, which was upset by Appalachian State in 2007, but the Bruins have plenty of company this season, too.
Here are the other schools that have paid out a lesser opponent—and lost—already this season:
Week 1
Army: $250,000
The Tarleton State Texans beat the Black Knights in their season-opener 30–27 in double overtime. Tarleton State entered the game as 14.5-point underdogs against Army, but found a way to pull off the upset.
Since then, the Texans have kept it rolling, moving to 4–0 on the season this past weekend. Tarleton State is outscoring opponents 187–40 and is $250,000 richer.
Week 2
Kansas State: $1.17 million
Florida: $500,000
Army quickly made back the money it lost to Tarleton State back. The following week, the Black Knights beat the Kansas State Wildcats 24–21 despite being 17.5-point underdogs at kickoff.
Florida, which entered the weekend ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25, lost to South Florida 18–16 in a game the Bulls netted $500,000 to play in.
The win came a week after the Bulls beat Boise State 34–7 to start the season. The Broncos entered the season as a trendy pick to get the Group of 5’s bid to the College Football Playoff and the Bulls promptly ended the buzz.
Week 3
UCLA: $1,200,000
Virginia Tech: $400,000
The Bruins weren’t the only Power-4 team taking out their checkbooks for multiple reasons this weekend.
Virginia Tech fell to Old Dominion 45–26 after trailing 28–0 at halftime. With the win, Old Dominion has three upsets over Power-4 opponents—all against the Hokies. Old Dominion entered the game as 13.5-point underdogs and quickly turned the game into a blowout.
On Sunday, the Hokies fired coach Brent Pry three games into his fourth season with the program. Pry’s buyout is $6 million and the Hokies paid the Lions $400,000 to play in Blacksburg, Va., bringing Virginia Tech’s football expenses to $6.4 million this past weekend.
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