Former Bishop Gorman QB sparks win for UCLA, sportsbooks

Dorian Thompson-Robinson trudged off the field at the Rose Bowl on Saturday disappointed with himself for throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Luckily for UCLA’s fifth-year senior quarterback, he had already put the game out of reach.

The former Bishop Gorman standout accounted for five touchdowns in UCLA’s 42-32 upset victory over No. 11 Utah.

The No. 18 Bruins were 3-point underdogs and +135 on the money line.

“UCLA specifically was one of the day’s biggest decisions,” Station Casinos sportsbook vice president Jason McCormick said via text message.

The favored Utes received 56 percent of spread bets and 55 percent of the handle at Caesars Sportsbook. It was a similar picture at BetMGM, with Utah garnering 56 percent of the tickets and 61 percent of the handle.

Thompson-Robinson had four touchdown passes and became UCLA’s all-time leader in that statistic with 76.

The Bruins are 6-0 for the first time since 2005 thanks largely to a soft nonconference schedule. But they beat Washington last week and earned their second straight victory over a ranked opponent by controlling the line of scrimmage against Utah.

“We needed UCLA,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said via text message.

UCLA was 100-1 at Station Casinos to win the national championship entering Saturday and would represent a small loss for the sportsbook, according to McCormick. Andrews said his shop has no real liability on the Bruins, who still have Oregon and rival Southern California on the schedule.

However, the Westgate SuperBook has exposure if the Bruins manage to run the table, according to director John Murray.

“We do have pretty big liability on UCLA,” Murray said via text message. “Can’t help but be extremely impressed by their season and that win today over a Utah team I thought was the class of the Pac-12. UCLA-USC should be awesome.”

Overall, most sportsbooks came out ahead Saturday with the late games pending.

“It was a solid winning day for the book,” McCormick said. “Key win from Purdue and covers from Missouri and Indiana started the morning well and UCLA, Arizona State and Georgia Tech afternoon wins really made the day.”

The SuperBook didn’t fare as well, however.

“Not our best day,” Murray said. “We had some house players hit some big plays. The morning games were pretty ugly. Nothing like last Saturday, which was our best of the season so far.”

Kiffin gets late cover

Mississippi bettors owe Lane Kiffin a “Hotty Toddy.”

The Rebels coach could have run out the clock while leading Vanderbilt by 17 points. But that’s not Kiffin’s style, and he ensured Ole Miss would cover as 17-point favorites.

After trailing at halftime, the Rebels took control and scored 28 straight points in the second half to lead 45-20 in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt’s A.J. Swann completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Will Sheppard with 4:03 remaining, and the Commodores added a two-point conversion to get within 45-28 and push the spread.

But Ole Miss recovered the onside kick and went 44 yards in eight plays. Rather than take a knee late, Matt Jones scored on a 1-yard run with 18 seconds remaining to give the Rebels a 52-28 advantage and the cover.

Push, push

Texas Christian’s 38-31 victory at Kansas featured a rare double push on the spread (-7) and total (69).

The under looked like a lock at halftime as the teams combined for 13 points and Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Then, both offenses woke up in the second half.

Jason Bean threw four touchdowns in relief of Daniels to ignite Kansas. But the Horned Frogs scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 24-yard pass from quarterback Max Duggan to receiver Quentin Johnston with 1:36 remaining.

Melancholy Memphis

The bad beats started early, as Memphis bettors took one in the teeth Friday.

The Tigers were 1½-point favorites over Houston and held leads of 26-7 and 32-19 in the fourth quarter. That wasn’t enough, as the Cougars rallied with 14 points to pull the upset.

Houston scored with 1:17 left to close within 32-26 and recovered the onside kick. KeSean Carter then hauled in a 2-yard pass from Clayton Tune with 18 seconds to play, and the extra point gave the Cougars a 33-32 victory.

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