/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/31957117/20120901_gav_ss1_103.0.jpg)
You know how in Hoosiers how the prickly and controversial Norman Dale always ends up doing the right thing by his guys? Yeah that was a movie, and Indiana decided to send USF a check for $500,000 instead of playing the Bulls in football in 2015 and 2016.
You think you can just pay us off with all that B1G television money you're bathing in up there and get away with it Hoosiers? Well... yeah, I guess you can. But that also makes you big time unethical jerks and I hope you're stuck with a crappy basketball program forever now. As far as we're concerned Ollie missed the free throws, the picket fence was a moving screen, and Jimmy bricks the game winner at State.
Obviously as a USF fan my first instinct was to blame the opponent USF was replaced by with the Hoosiers: None other than the FIU Panthers! You know, these guys. The '09 screwjob by Miami Lite was extra dastardly since they called off the game just eight months before kickoff, and also that they dumped us for a game with another team in our conference. Special thanks to John Marinatto for stepping in and helping us on that one. And by helping I mean watching it happen and doing exactly nothing.
But sadly all parties I've talked to point the finger on this one directly at Bloomington. They just sent USF the check and told us to go away. You can take it as a sign of respect that they don't want to play what they think might be a tough pair of games. Or you can take it that they really, really want to go to a bowl game for the first time since 2007, or actually win one for the first time since 1991. Getting to six wins should be a lot easier through Miami Gardens than Tampa.
So what happens now? Well the '15 schedule is now FAMU at home on September 5th, then at Maryland & FSU on the road back-to-back (September 19th and 26th) which was going to be rough sledding anyway. The Bulls are already in discussions to fill the date with an easier game or series, and possibly a guarantee game using the $500k in Hoosier money to help lure a good opponent.
This is the part where everyone goes to FBSchedules.com, sees every major school with an open date in '15, and says "I WANT THEM!!" So go do that and tell us all your dream scenarios in the comments.