This is an opinion column.

These are fraught days for college football fans.

The boardroom nerds are holding the sport hostage, pew-pew laser guns at our temples in some ego-fueled fight for dominion as their empire decays where people actually touch grass.

It stinks.

Anyway, another group of the best kind of college football nerds are out here doing, well, the Lord’s work.

Quite literally.

Our friends at the Shutdown Fullcast podcast/EDSBS extended universe did the impossible and brought feuding rivals together to raise an obscene amount of money for a great cause.

They did the impossible. They made Michigan’s fanbase not only likable, but laudable heroes — using that public ivy education’s subsequent gainful employment for good.

I’ll explain.

The SDFC/EDSBS crew held its Charity Bowl last week, an annual rite of spring they’re pretty sure dates back more than a decade.

It benefits New American Pathways, an Atlanta-based charity that “provides more than 5,000 refugees per year with the necessary tools to rebuild their lives and achieve long-term success,” according to its mission statement. Read all about it on its website. The non-profit has a 98% rating on Charity Navigator so you know it’s not a sham.

They go about this mostly on social media and create a scoreboard where fans/alums of certain schools can donate under the banner of their beloved teams.

It’s kinda like what the house bands at Gulf Coast dive bars do when they play the fight song of whoever puts the most cash in the bucket. Except it’s helping to make refugees feel welcome in our country as they work towards citizenship and a better life for their families — fulfilling the Statue of Liberty’s promise.

The brainchild of the podcast crew of Spencer Hall (a former employee of an organization similar to New American Pathways), Holly Anderson, Ryan Nanni and Jason Kirk officially became a millionaire this time.

It’s a cause that motivated more than 5,200 different donors to give a staggering $1.17 million last week. That’s seven digits of genuine good for new neighbors arriving in their greatest time of need.

The $1.17 million total announced Monday blew away last year’s record of $933,287.

And that’s where Michigan men and women won the day.

The final standings are staggering with Michigan leading the way with an absurd $269,056 raised. Texas A&M was the runner-up at an impressive $59,441 but still multiples behind the reigning CFP champs. The Wolverine faithful isn’t necessarily known for its humility, but they’ve certainly earned their bluster with this one.

It helped lift the Big Ten ($440,452) over second-place SEC ($213,083) in the conference standings.

If we’re looking at the Iron Bowl, Alabama’s $12,938 out-paced Auburn’s $5,295. Other Alabama schools included UAB $531, South Alabama $205, Troy $140, Birmingham-Southern $122 and North Alabama $49. See this for the full SEC standings.

Full disclosure, I gave a small amount in honor of my alma mater’s history facing the Crimson Tide.

WKU finished 132nd with $641 raised. In all, 399 schools (a few of which are fictional) made the scoreboard and if my donation is a clue, there’s an art to crafting the amount.

“By tradition,” the Charity Bowl FAQ reads, “donations are typically made in the form of a football score or statistic that has sentimental value to the donor. $70.33, for example, in memory of West Virginia’s infamous Orange Bowl romp over Clemson, or $26.28, to honor Barry Sanders.”

Just good, clean fun.

Twitter user @thekeelo_g put it best Friday night after crossing the million-dollar mark.

“Over 4300 people, driven by love: love for a sport that almost only hurts; love for Holly, Spencer, Ryan, and Jason; love for each other; and love for our newest neighbors, as they begin the process of making America their new home,” he wrote.

Really not much more to say than that.

No hot take to follow other than to say this is great. Where greed is chipping away at the traditions of our great sport, our favorite band of podcast misfits has done the impossible. They brought together bitter rivals for a higher cause while making Michigan the good guy.

Cheers to them and … Go Blue?

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.