"I've had more fans excited coming up to me (about Alabama) than any other games that we've done in awhile," he said. "We are also going to Illinois, and we will get much more publicity and interest from our fans over the Alabama game because there is more regional identification. It goes beyond the guaranteed dollar; we are going to get a great deal from our Alabama game."
It is good publicity for your program to get your azz beat by Alabama. At least that is the way I read it.