[h=1]Texas-Texas Tech total miss among worst 'bad beats' of the weekend[/h]Rob Nelson
ESPN Staff Writer
Closing lines are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, and pick percentages are via Wunderdog Sports.
[h=2]Saturday[/h]
[h=3]Texas Longhorns at Texas Tech Red Raiders[/h]Closing line: Over/under 86
Our historical data goes back to the 1970s, and this was the highest over/under we've ever seen in a Texas game. Even with the total so high, 72 percent of the action was on the over; after all, the previous game played in Lubbock ended up breaking all kinds of records in a 66-59 Oklahoma win over Texas Tech.
The teams started their scoring early, combining for 30 points in the first quarter. It slowed down a little in the second quarter, but with Texas leading 24-23 at halftime, it was still on pace to go over. The touchdowns didn't stop coming in the second half, and with 10:50 left, Texas led 45-37. One more touchdown and this historic total would go over. But then the unthinkable happened -- three straight possessions ending in punts. That was followed by each team turning it over on downs, and all of a sudden it came down to one last Texas Tech drive. The Red Raiders drove it down to the Texas 20-yard line but Patrick Mahomes II was picked off by Kris Boyd with nine seconds left. If you took the over, it must be hard to fathom how a game that had 82 combined points ended with a 10:50 scoring drought.
Final score: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37 (Game goes under)
[h=3]Oregon State Beavers at Stanford Cardinal[/h]Closing line: Stanford -16.5; Over/under: 42.5
Both the spread and over/under ended up coming down to one Stanford drive. You could also say it came down to one play.
With a little over two minutes left in the game, Stanford led 26-15 and faced a fourth-and-goal from the Oregon State 1-yard line. Instead of kicking the field goal -- which would have sent the total over -- David Shaw elected to go for it. A touchdown would have won it for the bettors on the over, as well as those who were on Stanford -16.5.
To no one's surprise, Stanford gave the ball to its star Christian McCaffrey (who was a yard away from 200 rush yards for the game), but he was stopped at the goal line and Oregon State took over. The Beavers eventually turned it over on downs, and the game ended with the under and Oregon State +16.5 as the right sides.
Final score: Stanford 26, Oregon State 15 (Oregon State covers & game goes under)
[h=3]FIU Golden Panthers at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers[/h]Closing line: Western Kentucky -34.5
Despite the big spread, Western Kentucky was one of the more popular plays on Saturday. The Hilltoppers appeared to be rewarding those bettors, as they led 49-7 with less than 10 minutes left.
In a span of just over a minute, it all fell apart for Western Kentucky -- or at least for those who bet them. FIU found the end zone with 9:29 left, then proceeded to recover a fumble on the very next play from scrimmage. Two plays later, the Golden Panthers scored again, and were now covering the 34.5-point spread. Both FIU touchdowns came from the arm of its freshman backup quarterback, Christian Alexander. Needing a touchdown to cover, the Hilltoppers drove down to the FIU 26-yard line on their next possession, but turned it over on downs. It was certainly a fourth quarter to forget for those unlucky bettors on Western Kentucky.
Final score: Western Kentucky 49, FIU 21 (FIU covers)
[h=3]Tulane Green Wave at UCF Knights[/h]Closing line: UCF -16.5
If you just looked at the final score, it would appear UCF easily won and covered the 16.5-point spread. But the 51 percent of bettors who took Tulane are still wondering how the Green Wave gave this one away.
Tulane trailed 7-6 at halftime, with an Andrew DiRocco missed extra point being the difference in the game. That single first-half mistake foreshadowed many more that followed in the second half for the Green Wave on Saturday. They allowed UCF to score three defensive touchdowns. Three! Tulane had the ball for nearly 40 minutes of game time, and outgained the Knights by over 50 yards, but in what seemed to be a competitive game, the final seven possessions for the Green Wave told the story: lost fumble, lost fumble (returned for a TD), interception (returned for a TD), turnover on downs after reaching the UCF 27-yard line, interception (returned for a TD), interception, end of game.
Final score: UCF 37, Tulane 6 (UCF covers)
[h=2]Sunday[/h]
[h=3]Carolina Panthers at Los Angeles Rams[/h]Closing line: Panthers -3
Over two-thirds of the action was on the Panthers, who closed as a field goal favorite on the road. On the second possession of the game, Cam Newton and Greg Olsen hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown to go up 7-0.
In what was a defensive struggle throughout, Carolina maintained that lead and went up 13-3 with 3:18 left in the game. Those who bet the Panthers needed them to do what they had done on the Rams' first 10 offensive possessions -- keep them out of the end zone. But alas, Carolina couldn't get a stop, allowing Los Angeles to go 75 yards in 15 plays capped off by a Case Keenum-to-Kenny Britt 10-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 34 seconds left.
If you bet the Panthers, you were surely asking "Why didn't the Rams just kick the field goal? They needed two scores anyway!" That doesn't matter now, though, as those who settled for a push must be feeling like they lost.
Final score: Panthers 13, Rams 10 (Game ends in push)
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ESPN Staff Writer
Closing lines are courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, and pick percentages are via Wunderdog Sports.
[h=2]Saturday[/h]
[h=3]Texas Longhorns at Texas Tech Red Raiders[/h]Closing line: Over/under 86
Our historical data goes back to the 1970s, and this was the highest over/under we've ever seen in a Texas game. Even with the total so high, 72 percent of the action was on the over; after all, the previous game played in Lubbock ended up breaking all kinds of records in a 66-59 Oklahoma win over Texas Tech.
The teams started their scoring early, combining for 30 points in the first quarter. It slowed down a little in the second quarter, but with Texas leading 24-23 at halftime, it was still on pace to go over. The touchdowns didn't stop coming in the second half, and with 10:50 left, Texas led 45-37. One more touchdown and this historic total would go over. But then the unthinkable happened -- three straight possessions ending in punts. That was followed by each team turning it over on downs, and all of a sudden it came down to one last Texas Tech drive. The Red Raiders drove it down to the Texas 20-yard line but Patrick Mahomes II was picked off by Kris Boyd with nine seconds left. If you took the over, it must be hard to fathom how a game that had 82 combined points ended with a 10:50 scoring drought.
Final score: Texas 45, Texas Tech 37 (Game goes under)
[h=3]Oregon State Beavers at Stanford Cardinal[/h]Closing line: Stanford -16.5; Over/under: 42.5
Both the spread and over/under ended up coming down to one Stanford drive. You could also say it came down to one play.
With a little over two minutes left in the game, Stanford led 26-15 and faced a fourth-and-goal from the Oregon State 1-yard line. Instead of kicking the field goal -- which would have sent the total over -- David Shaw elected to go for it. A touchdown would have won it for the bettors on the over, as well as those who were on Stanford -16.5.
To no one's surprise, Stanford gave the ball to its star Christian McCaffrey (who was a yard away from 200 rush yards for the game), but he was stopped at the goal line and Oregon State took over. The Beavers eventually turned it over on downs, and the game ended with the under and Oregon State +16.5 as the right sides.
Final score: Stanford 26, Oregon State 15 (Oregon State covers & game goes under)
[h=3]FIU Golden Panthers at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers[/h]Closing line: Western Kentucky -34.5
Despite the big spread, Western Kentucky was one of the more popular plays on Saturday. The Hilltoppers appeared to be rewarding those bettors, as they led 49-7 with less than 10 minutes left.
In a span of just over a minute, it all fell apart for Western Kentucky -- or at least for those who bet them. FIU found the end zone with 9:29 left, then proceeded to recover a fumble on the very next play from scrimmage. Two plays later, the Golden Panthers scored again, and were now covering the 34.5-point spread. Both FIU touchdowns came from the arm of its freshman backup quarterback, Christian Alexander. Needing a touchdown to cover, the Hilltoppers drove down to the FIU 26-yard line on their next possession, but turned it over on downs. It was certainly a fourth quarter to forget for those unlucky bettors on Western Kentucky.
Final score: Western Kentucky 49, FIU 21 (FIU covers)
[h=3]Tulane Green Wave at UCF Knights[/h]Closing line: UCF -16.5
If you just looked at the final score, it would appear UCF easily won and covered the 16.5-point spread. But the 51 percent of bettors who took Tulane are still wondering how the Green Wave gave this one away.
Tulane trailed 7-6 at halftime, with an Andrew DiRocco missed extra point being the difference in the game. That single first-half mistake foreshadowed many more that followed in the second half for the Green Wave on Saturday. They allowed UCF to score three defensive touchdowns. Three! Tulane had the ball for nearly 40 minutes of game time, and outgained the Knights by over 50 yards, but in what seemed to be a competitive game, the final seven possessions for the Green Wave told the story: lost fumble, lost fumble (returned for a TD), interception (returned for a TD), turnover on downs after reaching the UCF 27-yard line, interception (returned for a TD), interception, end of game.
Final score: UCF 37, Tulane 6 (UCF covers)
[h=2]Sunday[/h]
Over two-thirds of the action was on the Panthers, who closed as a field goal favorite on the road. On the second possession of the game, Cam Newton and Greg Olsen hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown to go up 7-0.
In what was a defensive struggle throughout, Carolina maintained that lead and went up 13-3 with 3:18 left in the game. Those who bet the Panthers needed them to do what they had done on the Rams' first 10 offensive possessions -- keep them out of the end zone. But alas, Carolina couldn't get a stop, allowing Los Angeles to go 75 yards in 15 plays capped off by a Case Keenum-to-Kenny Britt 10-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 34 seconds left.
If you bet the Panthers, you were surely asking "Why didn't the Rams just kick the field goal? They needed two scores anyway!" That doesn't matter now, though, as those who settled for a push must be feeling like they lost.
Final score: Panthers 13, Rams 10 (Game ends in push)
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