College football bettors endure day full of bad beats, crazy covers

When Georgia punter Brett Thorson lined up to boot the ball away with 19 seconds left in the first half Saturday, anyone holding a ticket on the Bulldogs and the under was halfway to the window ready to cash.

Georgia was anywhere from an 8½- to 9½-point favorite on the first-half line and owned a 17-6 lead over Mississippi State. What could go wrong?

Thorson’s kick was short and bounced to Mississippi State returner Zavion Thomas, who scooped it up, made the first Georgia tackler miss and then headed toward the right sideline. After a couple of blocks, Thomas broke free and reached the end zone with three seconds on the clock to cut Georgia’s lead to 17-12 at halftime.

Not only did the touchdown give Mississippi State the backdoor cover, it also sent the first half over the total of 27½ in the process.

It was that kind of day for bettors, with bad beats and crazy covers across the country.

“All day, some good (and) some not so good,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said via text message.

Perhaps no result summed up the day better than the ending of Michigan State’s victory over Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights were 10-point underdogs and trailed 27-14 late in the fourth quarter when they had second-and-1 from the Michigan State 4-yard line with 3:22 remaining.

A pair of penalties and a sack backed up the Scarlet Knights to the 31. But on fourth-and-28, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt launched a pass into the end zone, and Shameen Jones Jr. came down with the ball despite being double-covered by the Spartans.

The touchdown with 47 seconds gave Rutgers the cover and also sent the game over the total of 41 after it was sitting on the number.

Michigan bettors also experienced a bit of good fortune as the Wolverines defeated Nebraska 34-3 to cover as consensus 30½-point favorites.

After taking possession with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter, Michigan could have run out the clock. Instead, the Wolverines continued to throw, and an incompletion on third-and-5 stopped the clock with 1:21 remaining.

On fourth down, Jake Moody knocked through a 43-yard field goal to the delight of Michigan spread bettors.

“The late field goal from Michigan was a killer,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said via text message.

Southern Methodist bettors also breathed a sigh of relief before cashing as 17½-point favorites against South Florida.

The underdog Bulls scored with 1:46 remaining on a 17-yard touchdown reception by Jayson Littlejohn and went for the two-point conversion trailing 41-23.

But quarterback Byrum Brown’s pass fell incomplete, and the Mustangs escaped with the cover.

Public avoids pounding

Texas Christian’s 17-10 win over Texas as a 7-point underdog salvaged what could have been an otherwise disastrous day for bettors.

Esposito reported the TCU result was “really bad” for his book, while Westgate SuperBook director John Murray said via text message his shop got “beat up” by the Horned Frogs’ upset victory.

“That one reminded me of the Alabama-Tennessee game,” Murray said. “Everyone was on the dog, and everyone was right.”

Esposito and Murray both cited Washington’s outright upset of Oregon as a winner for the book. Andrews noted Alabama, Notre Dame and Louisiana State all winning but failing to cover were positive decisions for his side.

In addition to Georgia’s 45-19 win and cover, Andrews said bettors did well on Vanderbilt’s outright upset of Kentucky as a 17-point underdog and Oklahoma State’s upset over Iowa State, which was a 3-point road favorite.

“Overall a good day,” Andrews said. “Not great, but good.”

Major wagers at Caesars

Nearly every week this season, Caesars Sportsbook has been hit by a Nevada bettor for multiple six-figure wagers, and it happened again Saturday.

The bettor placed $632,500 in wagers on four games, and was 3-0 with one result pending late Saturday.

The three winning bets of Air Force (-21), West Virginia (+8½) and Vanderbilt (+18) were for $165,000 each, with the latter two winning outright as underdogs. The final bet for $137,500 of UNR +21 against Boise State was still undecided.

Caesars also reported a Nevada bettor — it’s not clear whether it was the same person — placed a $120,000 wager on Florida State -7 (-120). The Seminoles were easy winners over Syracuse.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.