TCU hands West Virgina bettors brutal bad beat on late touchdown

There is a new leader for bad beat of the year in college football.

Texas Christian covered in dramatic fashion as a 7-point favorite Saturday, scoring on a touchdown pass in the final minute that was a brutal gut punch for West Virginia spread bettors.

“We needed TCU to cover and got extremely lucky on that one,” Westgate SuperBook director John Murray said via text message.

To set the scene, TCU led 34-31 after the host Mountaineers scored with 4:12 remaining in fourth quarter and was intercepted on the ensuing drive, opening the door for West Virginia to pull off the outright upset.

But the Horned Frogs forced a punt and took over possession at midfield with 2:53 left to play. The next six plays were all runs and chewed up most of the remaining time on the clock.

On fourth-and-1 from the West Virginia 29, the Mountaineers jumped offside, and TCU quarterback Max Duggan took advantage of the free play, lofting a ball down the field.

Wide receiver Savion Williams had one-on-one coverage and made a leaping grab in front of the West Virginia cornerback near the goal line, then forced his way into the end zone for a 41-31 Horned Frogs lead with 20 seconds remaining.

South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said the result was a win for his shop, but that wasn’t the case for Station Casinos.

“TCU looked like a sure winner, which turned out a loser for us,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said via text message. “The free play was the difference!”

In addition to the favorite covering, TCU’s late touchdown sent the game over the total, which closed at 69½ at the SuperBook.

The teams combined for 49 points in the first half before the pace slowed in the third quarter. However, the 14 points in the final 4:12 was enough to go over the total.

Lucky Lions

Had it not been for TCU’s miracle cover, the ending of the Ohio State-Penn State game would have been the most agonizing of the day for bettors — or enjoyable, depending on what ticket you were holding.

Ohio State was favored by 16 points at most Las Vegas sportsbooks, but the Buckeyes managed 16 points on their first nine possessions and trailed 21-16 with 9:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Led by quarterback C.J. Stroud and running back TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State’s offense exploded for 21 points to take a 37-24 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

Then, just when it appeared the Buckeyes still wouldn’t cover, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau intercepted a pass and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown to put the Buckeyes ahead 44-24 with 2:42 left.

But on the ensuing drive, the Nittany Lions went 75 yards in eight plays against the Buckeyes’ backups, and Kaytron Allen’s 5-yard touchdown reception with 1:12 on the clock capped it off.

Final score: Ohio State 44, Penn State 31.

Andrews said that result favored his book, and so did Esposito.

“We were winning Penn State, losing Penn State and then got the backdoor cover all within a few minutes,” Esposito said. “Overall it was a pretty good day.”

Murray also reported a winning day after bettors came out ahead last weekend.

“The afternoon games were very good to us,” Murray said. “We gave some money back on Tennessee late, but overall no complaints here.”

Looking ahead

Top-ranked Georgia hosts No. 3 Tennessee next Saturday in a showdown for the lead in the Southeastern Conference’s East Division. Esposito said the game was posted at Station Casinos last week with the Bulldogs listed as 12½-point favorites.

Georgia pulled away for a 42-20 win over Florida on Saturday, falling short of the cover as 23½-point chalk. The Volunteers routed Kentucky 44-6.

“Tennessee looks like the real deal,” Esposito said. “Next week, Tennessee at Georgia sets up to be a monster game. We’ve had it up all week at 12½. I’m guessing the bettors take that.”

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