Look up the phrase "have your cake and eat it too" in the dictionary (of phrases), and you'll see a picture of a smiling Joe Vandal.
Or at least you should ... after Idaho's latest scheduling announcement. Missouri and the Vandals confirmed Friday that Paul Petrino's team will play the Tigers in Columbia on Oct. 21, 2017, with the Spokesman-Review reporting that Idaho will receive a check for $1.3 million for the privilege.
Certainly $1.3 million is a hefty sum -- much heftier than the price tag for an FCS tomato can and another piece of evidence to show why so many programs, like the Vandals, are committed to remaining in or moving into FBS rather than playing in the Division Formerly Known as I-AA -- but it might be doubly nice for Idaho. To make room for the Missouri game, the Vandals apparently backed out of their existing agreement to pay a 2017 visit to Gainesville and make up for the team's 2014 rainout at Florida.
Vandals athletics director Rob Spear told the Spokesman-Review Idaho still intends to play at Florida in a different, later season. But if that game isn't actually ever rescheduled, will it much bother Spear and Co.?
The Gators agreed to pay the Vandals the $975,000 owed for the 2014 game even after its cancellation; with that check having cleared in February (per Jeremy Foley), the Vandals pocketing both that cool sum and the Missouri payout -- no doubt bumped up a notch by Idaho's "we'll have to cancel this other game" negotiating position -- means Idaho will have played one game for a cool $2.275 million.
Maybe the 2014 rainout gets "made up" at a future date, and maybe it doesn't; the Vandals don't "owe" Florida anything, but another SEC-grade paycheck would always be motivation enough, too. However you slice Idaho's SEC scheduling cake, it's going to taste just as delicious as it looks on the ledger.