COLUMBUS, Ohio >> Ohio State’s Archie Griffin is the only two-time winner of the Heisman Trophy so why is his 1975 award on one side of campus in the Ohio Union building and the ’74 version clear across the Olentangy River on the other?

Because, when it come to Ohio State football, it seems, there is plenty of glory to spread around, even on a 1,900-acre campus.

That the Buckeyes also can dedicate an ample room in the vast two block long Woody Hayes Athletic Facility to their five other Heisman trophies and 12 other major (Lombardi, Camp, Butkus, Thorpe, Groza etc.) national award winners, underlines the abundance of riches and success to be found here in the home of the reigning national champions.

It isn’t just hardware, including eight national championships, gleaming in the afternoon sun, either. The Wall Street Journal calls OSU the "Most Valuable College Football Program" in the country.

If Buckeye football could be sold on the open market like an NFL franchise, it would be worth $1.1 billion — that’s billion, with a ‘b’ — this year, according to a study by Ryan Brewer, an Indiana University associate professor of finance. By way of comparison, the Buffalo Bills sold for $1.4 billion less than a year ago.

"Clearly, Hawaii and Ohio State are toward the two extremes," said Brewer.

Which makes their nonconference meeting here Saturday a particularly vivid example of the haves vs. the have-nots since UH football is ranked 85th at $23 million in the same study.

Small wonder the Buckeyes are 40-point favorites on Las Vegas betting lines.

The UH and OSU campuses are separated by 4,516 miles, but when it comes to finances and outlook they might as well be on different planets.

At the "Horseshoe" as the 104,941-seat Ohio Stadium is affectionately known, UH will play before almost as many people as the 105,270 who have seen the last five Rainbow Warrior home games combined.

Many of them will arrive when the tailgating lots open at 5 a.m. — 101/2 hours before the kickoff.

"It doesn’t matter who we play or what the weather is — and it can get pretty nasty sometimes — the fans always come out," said Tony Mollica, who runs the 56-year old Varsity Club a field goal away from Ohio Stadium.

The $1.2 million check the Rainbow Warriors will receive from OSU for their labors will be the second biggest in UH school history after the 2008 Sugar Bowl but it is table scraps for a Buckeye program that is said to generate approximately $72.4 million.

The Buckeyes take in just in Big Ten Conference TV and associated revenues, $32 million, what the entire 21-team UH athletic department operates on.

UH, which has run at a deficit for most of the last decade, is far from alone in its insolvency, of course. According to a 2014 NCAA study of the 126-team Football Bowl Subdivision, fewer than 20 schools break even or make money.

But one of them is OSU. The Buckeyes, largely on what football produces, operate 35 teams while receiving no student fees or university subsidies. What athletics here does, however, is run enough of a surplus to transfer upwards of $8 million a year to the university in recent years, according to an Ohio newspaper study.

There is little of the Nike-funded, Brazilian hardwood floor and Italian leather furniture opulence you see at Oregon. But it is clear that the Buckeyes lack none of the necessities, either. From an expansive, newly re-turfed indoor practice facility to some of the best coaches money can buy, the Buckeyes do well for themselves.

Head coach Urban Meyer receives $5.2 million in salary and benefits — and his staff earns nearly $6 million.

Many, including the students wearing "Urban Meyer Knows" t-shirts, think it is money well spent.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529- 4820.