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Zone read: Rutgers wants the Big East to pay for their missing seventh home game

Graham Watson

The Zone Read is your college football primer (that appears where there's news to share) to make you seem like the smartest person at the water cooler even if you're not.

The Big East schedule came out Tuesday and when Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti spoke with media about it, he wasn't very happy with the Scarlet Knights having just six home games and called for the Big East to compensate his school for the home game lost during the craziness of the Big East's expansion.

Rutgers was originally supposed to host TCU, but after the Horned Frogs backed out of the Big East for the Big 12, the Scarlet Knights were left a home game short. The easy solution would have been to add another FCS team to their schedule, but that also would have meant that the Scarlet Knights would have had to win seven games for bowl eligibility and there was no guarantee that an FCS game would draw enough to make up for the money lost from the TCU cancellation. Rutgers eventually filled the scheduling void with a home-and-home against Arkansas, the Scarlet Knights play at Arkansas this year.

"We'll deal with it in a very direct manner with the league," Pernetti said of Rutgers' six home games. "We're disappointed that we were not made whole on a league (home) game with TCU's departure. Having said that, we took control of our situation. While there were opportunities out there to bring a second 1-AA (FCS) opponent in here that's just not for us any more. We're not doing that again.

"I thought it was more important to think longer term about bringing in an opponent that could return the game, that was a high-profile BCS opponent. We ended to a great resolution to the situation with Arkansas."

According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Rutgers makes between $1.2 million and $1.7 million per home game.

The addition of Temple helped fix the Big East's scheduling snafu, but Rutgers plays at Temple to make up for the Scarlet Knights' game at West Virginia. The Mountaineers also left for the Big 12.

It's not like the Big East doesn't have some extra money lying around. The conference received a $5 million buyout from TCU, $20 million from West Virginia and will get at least $5 million apiece from Syracuse and Pittsburgh, which are leaving for the ACC.

The IRS is coming for the Fiesta Bowl: The Fiesta Bowl acknowledged Monday that it will probably have to pay $136,350 in back taxes to the IRS to make up for unreported employee compensation the past five years and for staff being reimbursed for making illegal political campaign contributions since 2000, AZCentral.com reported.

Reporting the back taxes to the IRS and making it public might help the Fiesta Bowl, a non-profit organization, keep its tax-exempt status. Tax-exempt status can be revoked for egregious offenses, but the bowl does not expect that luxury to be revoked.

And dang it, people like me: Texas Monthly ran a short interview with Senatorial candidate Craig James and in it he delves into why he thinks people don't like him. Basically, people don't like him because he's so awesome, or so James says.

There's a lot of people who don't have a faith and don't believe what I believe, who want to rip me up. They don't like the fact that I go home to the same lady every night and have for twenty-nine years. They don't like that I've been a dad and I've been there for my kids. They don't like that I've been in the spotlight but haven't stumbled. I think there's a group of people who would like to see me come down.

Sticky notes: Condolences to coach Brady Hoke on the passing of his father John. He was 80… Jury awards former San Diego State defensive lineman Eric Ikonne $300,000 for a medical malpractice suit he filed following a collapse after a workout in 2009… San Jose State is back on the expansion bubble while the Mountain West and Conference USA start to look at potential expansion candidates from the WAC… A&M is totally sold out of season tickets for its first year in the SEC… San Diego State starting defensive lineman Dontrell Onuoha has been suspended from the team after being booked on felony assault charges Sunday stemming from the beating of a frat boy at a party in September... And Nick Saban said he will end his coaching career at Alabama.

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