Worst gambling ‘bad beats’ of the weekend
Note: Closing lines are courtesy of Westgate Les Vegas SuperBook and pick percentages are via Wunderdog Sports.
Oklahoma Sooners at Tennessee Volunteers
Closing line: Oklahoma -1.5
Oklahoma opened as a one-point underdog in this game before closing as a slight favorite. It marked the 15th straight game that the Sooners closed as a favorite, which is the fourth-longest active streak in the FBS.
Tennessee jumped out to a 17-0 lead early the second quarter, and was up 17-3 with just over eight minutes to go in the fourth. But then a pair of Oklahoma touchdowns, including a Sterling Shepard five-yard score with 40 seconds left, sent the game into overtime. After the Volunteers scored first in overtime to take the lead again, the Sooners responded again, this time on a Baker Mayfield 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal. In the second overtime, Mayfield connected with Shepard for a second touchdown, and after Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs was picked off, Oklahoma had completed the improbable comeback.
The underdog Volunteers didn’t trail until the second overtime, but that didn’t matter for the 39 percent of bettors who lost by taking them.
Final score: Oklahoma 31, Tennessee 24 (Oklahoma covers)
Closing line: Texas -15.5
Coming off a lackluster performance against Notre Dame the previous week, Texas was more than a two-touchdown favorite against Rice. Believe it or not, 51 percent of the bets were on the Owls — not the Longhorns, the team with its own TV network — to cover.
Texas led 21-0 after the first quarter and entered the fourth up 42-14. With less than seven minutes remaining, Rice capped off an 18-play drive with a Temi Alaka four-yard touchdown catch. The Owls then got the ball back with less than five minutes to go on their own 15-yard line, and things were getting interesting. Eighty-five yards later, Rice’s Luke Turner scored a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining that left those who bet Texas saying to themselves, “You gotta be kidding me.”
Rice has now covered 10 of its last 12 games dating back to last season.
Final score: Texas 42, Rice 28 (Rice covers)
Closing over/under: 56.5
Rarely do you see the majority of bets on the under, but that was the case for this game. The total closed at 56.5, and the 59 percent of those who took the under had to feel pretty good late in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute to go, Boise State led 24-21, and it looked like overtime was the only thing that could lose it for folks on the under. BYU faced a fourth-and-7 from the Boise State 35-yard line, and for the second straight week, Cougars quarterback Tanner Mangum completed an improbable touchdown pass. Unlike his game-winning Hail Mary against Nebraska the previous week, there was still time on the clock — too much time if you had the under.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Boise State quarterback Ryan Finley was picked off by BYU’s Kai Nacua at midfield, and those who took the under were yelling “get down, get down!” Instead, Nacua took it to the house for a touchdown that gave the Cougars a 35-24 win, aided by 14 points in the final 45 seconds.
Final score: BYU 35, Boise State 24 (total goes over 56.5)
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Closing over/under: 52.5
The majority of action was on the over, as only 29 percent of bettors took the under. Those 29 percent had to think they were on the right side when the Giants led the Cowboys 16-13 with just over eight minutes to play. The combined 29 points were 23.5 less than the closing total in the game. The two teams exchanged touchdowns — 1-yard scores by Rashad Jennings and Jason Witten — and with less than two minutes remaining in the game, New York led 23-20. A questionable decision by Eli Manning — who stopped the clock by throwing away a third-and-goal pass — and Tom Coughlin’s decision to kick a field goal, gave Dallas life. The Cowboys got the ball back, down 26-20 with a chance to win. Tony Romo did just that, connecting with Witten once again to give Dallas an improbable win.
The only people feeling worse than Giants fans today might be those who took the under. There ended up being 24 combined points in the final 8:01, and the under backers lost by a half-point.
Final score: Cowboys 27, Giants 26 (total over 52.5)