Worst gambling ‘bad beats’ of the weekend
Note: Closing lines are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook and pick percentages are via Wunderdog sports.
NC State Wolfpack at Florida State Seminoles
Closing line: Over/under 53.5
Entering Saturday, these teams had combined for an average of 81.5 points per game in their previous two meetings. The 73 percent of bettors on the over just needed more than 53.5 points.
NC State jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first quarter and it was looking like another high-scoring affair between the Wolfpack and Seminoles. Florida State would score the next 27 points and led 34-17 with less than 10 minutes to go; folks on the over needed three more points. With just more than two minutes left, the Seminoles had a fourth-and-2 at the NC State 13-yard line. Seemingly, Florida State would send on Roberto Aguayo (who was 44-44 in his career on FGs under 40 yards) for a chip shot field goal. Instead, Jimbo Fisher went for it and Jacques Patrick ended up fumbling and giving the ball back to NC State. In what turned out to be one final tease for those on the over, the Wolfpack drove all the way down to the Florida State 1-yard line before Jacoby Brissett failed to run it in on the game’s final play.
Final score: Florida State 34, NC State 17 (game goes under)
Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks
Closing line: Florida -7.5
After three quarters, things didn’t look good for the 32 percent of bettors on South Carolina +7.5. But a fourth-quarter rally by the Gamecocks — who once trailed 17-0 — had folks who took the points thinking they had themselves a winning bet.
Down 17, South Carolina scored twice to cut Florida’s lead down to three with 4:49 left in the game. Florida had been held out of the end zone since the eight-minute mark in the second quarter and faced a third-and-8 with a little more than two minutes left. The Gators kept it on the ground and Kelvin Taylor broke free for a 53-yard run down to the South Carolina 1-yard line. Any hope of a Gamecocks’ goal-line stand went away on the very next play when Taylor punched it in for a touchdown. South Carolina would turn it over on the following possession, as its late rally turned out to be nothing more than false hope for those who bet the Gamecocks.
Final score: Florida 24, South Carolina 14 (Florida covers)
Minnesota Golden Gophers at Iowa Hawkeyes
Closing line: Iowa -9
While Iowa took home the Floyd of Rosedale — a bronze trophy in the shape of a pig awarded to annual winner of this rivalry — the 71 percent of folks who bet the Hawkeyes ended up with nothing.
Iowa took a 40-28 lead when LeShun Daniels Jr. scored from 51 yards out with 2:01 left in the game. The Hawkeyes — who hadn’t allowed 30 points in a game all season — were a stop away from covering the spread. Minnesota’s Mitch Leidner had other plans, as he led his Golden Gophers on a six-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a Shannon Brooks‘ touchdown run. Before Minnesota’s late touchdown that cost Iowa the cover, the Hawkeyes hadn’t allowed a Big Ten team to score in the final two minutes of a half all season.
Final score: Iowa 40, Minnesota 35 (Minnesota covers)
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Closing line: Over/under 42
It is hard to fathom what was more shocking in this game: Peyton Manning getting benched or those who took under 42 having to settle for a push. The Chiefs led 22-0 entering the fourth quarter, with the total 20 points shy of the closing over/under.
The first score of the fourth came at the 11:10 mark when Alex Smith and Charcandrick West hooked up for an 80-yard touchdown, the longest completion of Smith’s career. On the following drive, the Brock Osweiler-led Broncos marched down the field, scoring for the first time when Ronnie Hillman ran it in from a yard out. With the score at 29-6 (Denver failed on the two-point conversion), the 20-point cushion on the under was down to just seven. On their next possession, the Broncos drove down to the Kansas City 7-yard line and faced a fourth-and-goal with less than two minutes left. In what turned out to be Denver’s last offensive play of the game, Osweiler found Andre Caldwell for a touchdown that made the final score, 29-13.
This wasn’t the only total that pushed in the late afternoon window, as Adrian Peterson‘s 80-yard touchdown with 1:50 left in Oakland cost those on the under in that game a winning bet as well (30-14 final, over/under closed at 44).
Final score: Chiefs 29, Broncos 13 (total pushes)