Weekend’s worst bad beats
Line: South Florida -11
South Florida extended its winning streak to 12 games, but the final margin of victory left those who bet the Bulls against the spread in disbelief.
With just over 17 minutes left in the game, South Florida led 34-7 over Tulane and looked like it would easily cover the 11-point spread. The closing stretch, however, saw the Green Wave offense come alive while Bulls kicker Emilio Nadelman‘s rough day continued. After getting an extra point blocked earlier in the game, Nadelman came up empty on a pair of field goal attempts in the fourth quarter. Those missed opportunities cost some unlucky bettors, who saw Tulane end the game with 21 unanswered points, capped off by a Dontrell Hilliard 16-yard touchdown with 2:45 left. South Florida would reach the Green Wave 9-yard line on the game’s final possession, but ended up taking a knee and running out the clock to win by just six.
Final score: South Florida 34, Tulane 28 (Tulane covers)
Line: Wisconsin -24
This marked the seventh time in seven games this season that Wisconsin entered as a double-digit favorite. Entering the fourth quarter, it looked like the Badgers would remain unbeaten but fall to 3-4 ATS this season.
On the flip side, bettors who took the underdog had to be feeling pretty good, as Maryland trailed 28-13 with the less than 10 minutes left. After the Badgers extended their lead to 22 with an Austin Ramesh 1-yard touchdown, Maryland was forced to punt and needed one more defensive stop to ensure the cover. In what was an interesting decision, Wisconsin called timeout with 41 seconds left and sent the field goal team out on fourth-and-1. Rafael Gaglianone nailed the 33-yarder to extend the winning margin to 25, costing those on Maryland +24 a winning bet.
Final score: Wisconsin 38, Maryland 13 (Wisconsin covers)
Line: Michigan State -6.5
For the second consecutive week, Indiana was on the verge of upsetting a team from Michigan. After losing in overtime against the Wolverines the previous week, the Hoosiers led 9-3 more than halfway through the fourth quarter at Michigan State on Saturday.
The Spartans would finally find the end zone with 5:59 left, which put them up 10-9, marking their first lead of the game. Those on Indiana were still covering, but after a three-and-out, the Hoosiers allowed Michigan State to move right down the field again. L.J. Scott capped off another Spartan scoring drive, as his 18-yard touchdown with less than two minutes remaining made the score 17-9. What’s worse for bettors is that the Hoosiers allowed him to score, to ensure getting the ball back. Indiana had one last chance, but turned it over on downs to close the book on what was a very tough loss for those who took the underdog
Final score: Michigan State 17, Indiana 9 (Michigan State covers)
Line: Pick ’em, Over/under 55.5
Those who bet either Louisiana Tech or the under are still wondering how this game ended up going into overtime.
With less than 90 seconds left in regulation, Southern Mississippi trailed 27-16 and needed a field goal, onside kick recovery, touchdown and two-point conversion to tie it up. Somehow, the Golden Eagles pulled it off, tying the game at 27-27 with 31 seconds left. At that point, bettors on the under went from easy winners to guaranteed losers since the next score would push the total over. As for those on Louisiana Tech, they still had a shot to win, but a missed 64-yard field on the final play of regulation sent the game into overtime. After both teams threw interceptions in the first overtime period, the Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game on a Keon Howard to Korey Robertson 25-yard touchdown in double overtime. The Bulldogs would then turn it over on downs, with their loss being one of two bad beats in the game.
Final score: Southern Mississippi 34, Louisiana Tech 27 in 2OT (Southern Miss covers and game goes over)
Line: Over/under 37.5
Those who bet the under had to feel great about their pick for pretty much the entire game.
Both the Ravens and Vikings continued to settle for field goals, as Justin Tucker and Kai Forbath combined to make all nine of their attempts in the game. In what would be the final drive by either team, Baltimore got the ball at its own 32-yard line, trailing 24-9 with 3:03 left. All bettors on the under needed to avoid was a touchdown, and considering the Ravens hadn’t reached the red zone all day, you had to like their chances. But on the 14th play of the drive — and final snap of the game — Joe Flacco hooked up with Chris Moore for a 13-yard “meaningless” score to crush those on the under.
Final score: Vikings 24, Ravens 16 (total goes over)