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Why travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan? Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill likes the check
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Head coaches in the Group of Five conferences are becoming more comfortable with speaking their mind. And in the days before the first full weekend of the college football season, Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill had zero issues addressing why his Blue Raiders are traveling to Ann Arbor in the opening weekend.
Money.
During his press conference on Monday, Stockstill was asked what is most beneficial about playing a blueblood program like Michigan on the road to open the year. The paycheck Middle Tennessee will receive is the driving force.
“1.6 million,” Stockstill said. That’s the amount the University of Michigan will shell out to the Blue Raiders for coming to the Big House in Week 1. That comment is a similar response to the one FAU head coach Lane Kiffin used when asked what the benefit was of playing Ohio State in Columbus.
Kiffin said “money” was a huge benefit to opening the year with the Buckeyes.
Stockstill didn’t end on the paycheck, though. He did offer some more reasons why it’s beneficial to play a perennial power in the non-conference schedule.
“It’s an opportunity for us to go compete against the so-called best players in the country,” Stockstill said, according to MLive.com. “They’re full of four- and five-stars, and it’s an opportunity for our team to go out there and compete. That’s what we do. We’re not going to bow down to anybody.”
RELATED: Lane Kiffin not Bashful about Benefit of Playing Buckeyes
Middle Tennessee is coming off a successful 2018 campaign, finishing the year with an 8-6 record, with included a 7-1 mark in C-USA play. The Blue Raiders played for a conference title last season, falling 27-25 to UAB for the crown.
Stockstill is entering his 14th season with the program.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB