Tate Money talks in college football these days (mostly)

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Sep. 21—Money … money … money!

Aside from a weekend highlighted by Mississippi, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Alabama uprisings — yes, the SEC is back — The Athletic's research on roster values shared attention with the games.

That becomes pertinent next Saturday because Ohio State's $50 million (and up) squad will be hosting an Illinois team receiving an estimated $19 to $23 million.

These numbers are not exact but no one doubts that OSU players are receiving more than twice the amount of Illini players.

As a result, the seventh-ranked Buckeyes are more than three-TD favorites on early betting lines to extend their 10-game win streak against Illinois.

Always room for surprises

Saturday's long-shot odds for Illinois in Columbus are a reality but, at the same time, player salaries don't always define the winner … particularly when rabid home crowds and bitter rivalries impact the emotions.

Ole Miss is roughly $10 million behind LSU in roster payouts but won 32-24 Saturday night to "get even" with Lane Kiffin, the Rebels' head coach in the previous five years.

Similarly, Texas A&M has twice the player income of Kentucky, but the traveling Wildcats pulled a 31-21 upset on Saturday.

These are mostly one-day football surprises, but there is one glaring and inexplicable example that continues year after year.

No, it's not just football, either.

It is the Milwaukee Brewers, who, based on payroll, should be lodged alongside Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and not winning the National League's central division four years in a row and reaching the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons.

The Brewers come in 20th in annual payroll through those nine seasons and are spending roughly $100 million less than the Cubs this year. However, as St. Louis scribe Bernie Miklasz points out, the Brewers' organization is smarter and more efficient from bullpen to bench. The Brewers hit fewer home runs — less than one per game — but they have the most hits through greater selectivity at the plate. They have proved themselves to be fundamentally better than the Cubs, Cards, Reds and Pirates and entered the final week with the most wins in the major leagues.

Outsmarting competition

Point is, low-salaries teams can be successful via leadership smarts and team development.

Take Iowa. The Hawkeye football team is listed 17th, ahead of only Purdue in the Big Ten, with a 2026 roster amount estimated between $17 and $21 million. That indicates a small name, image and likeness operation since most of Iowa's $21.58 million in department revenue expenditure goes to football.

The Hawkeyes are the Brewers of football and, while they don't win championships, they show a 101-43 record since 2015 and a special skill for prevailing in inclement November conditions, displaying a 32-6 record in the final month since 2015. And they compete favorably even though the offense is annually rated as sub-par.

Progress report

With nine conference games ahead, Illinois faces only two teams — Ohio State and Oregon — that are well beyond the UI's reach financially. The other seven UI opponents fall within the league's bottom 10 on The Athletic's list. Nebraska and UCLA are slightly ahead of the bottom eight.

Before the season started, the UI's seven games against "similar" Big Ten opponents always figured to determine the team's ultimate status.

As for the team's development, injuries to the top three offensive guards have slowed cohesion in the line, and it's uncertain whether improved rushing vs. Southern Illinois is valid. Illinois ran for 198 yards and passed for 305 in coasting 48-10, but rushed for just 111 yards in the 31-27 loss to Duke the week before.

Also, previously shoddy linebacking showed improvement in nullifying DJ Williams' quarterback runs for SIU but, again, 3-3-5 questions remain.

Not defined by one game

As in the 42-23 opening win over UAB, the Illini exploded Saturday with game-changing bursts … Collin Dixon's sixth and seventh TD receptions … Aidan Laughery's 77-yard run … Matthew Bailey's 88-yard interception return.

Now comes Ohio State and the opportunity to shock the football world and devastate the Buckeyes' national championship hopes. On this fourth week a year ago, Illinois was overrun by Indiana, 63-10, but it did not define a 9-4 season.

So, Illinois is in a similar position today. Whatever happens in the Horseshoe, the remaining eight games will determine where Bret Bielema's program is headed … regardless of the monetary outlays.

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