.Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame last weekend break on a last-second basket to mark college football's 1st large trouble of 2024. For the Huskies, it's a succeed they'll be celebrating for years ahead. For the Fighting Irish, it's a season-crusher. To shed the home opener to a small university coming from a greatly poor event was a humiliation for Notre Dame.Especially due to the fact that they paid for NIU $1.4 million to carry out it.This beams a lighting on among the lengthiest and also most expensive practices in college football: guarantee games. They are actually also contacted "money video games," "paycheck video games," or even, as I such as to phone all of them, "acquire weeks." A pricey (as well as high-risk) traditionFor years, in the very first few weeks of the season, primary college volleyball establishments have spent smaller sized colleges to find to play all of them in their house.In Full week 1 alone, greater than $35 million was spent throughout at the very least 55 warranty video games, depending on to Front Office Sports. Alabama composed the biggest check to its own challenger, Western Kentucky, for an immense $1.9 thousand. WKU dropped that activity 63-- 0, yet they possibly attacked the count on the bus ride home and very likely will not think twice about it.In Full week 2, 3 universities-- Western Michigan, Center Tennessee, and Utah Condition-- got payouts greater than NIU's $1.4 million. They lost through a combined credit rating of 156-- 3, but they took home an overall of $4.85 thousand in the process.It's usually a good deal for both crews. The little institutions receive an income, the huge colleges obtain another home video game to dairy gameday profits. The little school gets to use the huge stage and receive national visibility, the huge one acquires a dish on the schedule to begin the year in a sporting activity without any preseason. So all's effectively and also really good till the smaller team makes a decision to reveal out as well as draw the upset.