Surely this Week 4 Saturday played out differently for North Carolina when the Tar Heels envisioned it ahead of time. Because it was bad.
James Madison rolled into Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on Saturday and hung 53 points on North Carolina after the first half to go on to win in dominant fashion, 70-50. Though, clearly defense was lacking on both sides.
The kicker: The Tar Heels paid the Dukes $700,000 to inflict this kind of damage to them, according to USA TODAY Sports‘ Steve Berkowitz. That’s a lot of money to lose so badly you spark jokes about mercy rules and running clocks.
Sure, this happens fairly often where an underdog team gets paid a few grand to beat the favorite, like Notre Dame paying $1.4 million to get upset by Northern Illinois. Just last week, Florida State paid $1.3 million to lose to Memphis and Mississippi State paid Toledo $1.2 million to lose to the Rockets, Berkowitz reported.
As the Associated Press notes:
This season at least 60 guarantee games will be played matching schools that play in the NCAA’s highest level of Division I, the Football Bowl Subdivision, with total payouts reaching $75 million, according to AP research.
In this instance, a James Madison win is less of a surprise than the scoring margin. The Dukes have been on the rise as one of the newer FBS teams, finishing 8-3 in 2022 and 11-2 in 2023. And now they’re 3-0, despite losing their coach and multiple players to Indiana.
So we have a new take on these payouts, and in honor of this incredible lop-sided Dukes win — they entered as 11-point underdogs on the road — here’s how that $700,000 breaks down in terms of game stats.
1. North Carolina paid $10,000 per point James Madison scored against the Tar Heels
Alonza likes playing football in this stadium.
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) September 21, 2024
Yeah, this is the big one, and if North Carolina’s defense existed, each point would probably be worth more.
2. North Carolina paid about $1,149 per yard allowed against James Madison
Eh, that doesn’t seem that bad, but that’s because 609 yards is outrageous. The Tar Heels, for what it’s worth, also racked up 616 yards, which breaks down to about $1,136 per yard they gained while still losing.
3. North Carolina paid about $23,333 per each of its 30 first downs, which was more than the Dukes
The Tar Heels earned five more first downs than James Madison but still lost. Not great.
4. North Carolina paid $140,000 per turnover to James Madison
North Carolina turned the ball over five times compared with James Madison’s one. A turnover margin that big isn’t going to win games.
5. North Carolina paid James Madison about $58,333 per Dukes penalty
James Madison finished with 12 penalties for 105 yards, notably more than the Tar Heels’ eight for 71 yards. Those are some expensive penalties.
