Gambling Bad Beats
Here are the worst bad beats of the sports betting week: 5. Pepperdine +6½ The focus is on football until the season is over, but college basketball returned last week, bringing some awful beats. Charles Curtis December 2, 2019 8:46 am It’s Monday, so as we do from time to time to kick off the week, we’re giving you a horrendous bad beat from the weekend of football action. A game for bad beat lore. The game was a thriller. Anyone who had the Browns thought they were on the wrong side when the Ravens went up 14 points.
Betting on college football in 2020 has been a whirlwind.
There have been plenty of circumstances where you think you have an edge, only to find out 20 minutes before kickoff that a dozen players on a team are unavailable because of COVID-19 protocols.
That happened in quite a few games over the weekend, and there were other games that had brutally bad beats.
Tulane vs. Tulsa
The bad beats started on Thursday night in the Tulane vs. Tulsa game. No. 25 Tulsa, undefeated in AAC play, was coming off a big come-from-behind win over SMU.
Tulsa was a 5.5-point home favorite, but things were looking good for Tulane backers well into the fourth quarter. Tulane had built a 14-0 lead and Tulsa was down to its third-string quarterback, Davis Brin.
Brin, to his credit, led an impressive comeback. First, he cut the deficit to 14-7 with an 18-yard touchdown run with 9:17 to go before tying the score with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Josh Johnson on fourth-and-16 with 3:16 left in regulation.
Tulane, though, responded with a touchdown of its own at the 1:38 mark to go up 21-14. Soon enough, Tulsa was down to one final play in its effort to force overtime — and one play away from a win for those who bet on Tulane.
That’s when this happened:
Tulsa with an INCREDIBLE Hail Mary to take it to OT 😱pic.twitter.com/x1WW3Pq24v
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 20, 2020Brin lobbed one up to JuanCarlos Santana for a 37-yard touchdown as time expired, forcing overtime.
Worst Sports Betting Bad Beats
All of a sudden, that Tulane +5.5 ticket was in jeopardy. It was about to get way worse.
The teams traded field goals in the first overtime, and Tulane began double-overtime on offense. On third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Michael Pratt dropped back to pass and was picked off by Tulsa star Zaven Collins, who returned it 96 yards for the rare overtime walk-off pick six.
Gambling Bad Beats Full
WE HAVE NO WORDS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/CW5xPzwM6Q
— American Football (@American_FB) November 20, 2020To recap: Tulsa overcame a two-score fourth-quarter deficit with a third-string quarterback, forced overtime with a 37-yard touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter and won on a 96-yard pick six. Yeah, that’s a bad beat if you had money on Tulane.
Purdue vs. Minnesota
Minnesota was in action on a Friday night for the third time this season and were two-point home underdogs against Purdue.
The Gophers led all night, but were on the ropes in the final minutes. Purdue trailed 34-24 early in the fourth quarter, but cut the lead to 34-31 with 8:31 to go. On the ensuing drive, Minnesota went for it and failed on fourth-and-1 from its own 34-yard line.
All of a sudden, Purdue had tremendous field position with the chance to go in front. But the Boilermakers couldn’t capitalize as J.D. Dellinger missed a 33-yard field goal.
The Purdue defense, though, quickly forced a three-and-out and got the offense back on the field. This time, it looked like Purdue had finally taken the lead when Jack Plummer hit Payne Durham for a 19-yard touchdown. The touchdown, however, was wiped off the board by a controversial offensive pass interference call on Durham.
This offensive pass interference penalty took a go-ahead touchdown off the board for Purdue. Really questionable call. pic.twitter.com/1T1k1AB01I
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) November 21, 2020On the very next play, Plummer threw an interception and what looked like a win for Purdue bettors was all of a sudden a brutal loss — mainly thanks to questionable officiating.
UCLA vs. Oregon
This one may not have had as many wagers as the prominent Thursday and Friday night games above. But if you bet UCLA on the first-half moneyline against No. 11 Oregon, you may never want to place another bet again.
UCLA, playing without starting quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, was a 17.5-point underdog to the Ducks but held a 21-17 lead late in the first half. The UCLA offense was on the field at its own 44-yard line with six seconds left in the half, and only an absolute disaster would cost you your first-half moneyline bet.
This would be that disaster.
What a way to end the first half!
Oregon went into the locker room with momentum after a pick-six 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zZ2ua1Tkey
— Stadium (@Stadium) November 22, 2020Chase Griffin stepped up in the pocket and was drilled as he tried to launch one to the end zone. The ball was intercepted by Jordan Happle, who returned it all the way for a touchdown, flipping a four-point UCLA lead to a 24-21 Oregon lead at the break.
UCLA’s first-half moneyline odds were +350 at BetMGM, meaning a $100 bet would net you a $350 return. What would have been a big win for UCLA backers turned into a heartbreaking loss.
Cincinnati vs. UCF
Elsewhere on Saturday was a big game in the American Athletic Conference between undefeated Cincinnati and UCF, a team with one of the best offenses in the country.
Cincinnati closed as four-point favorites at BetMGM, and had the ball up 36-33 with a chance to close out the game. The Bearcats moved the ball all the way into the red zone. On first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with 1:43 remaining, Cincinnati running back Gerrid Doaks took a handoff and had a clear path to the end zone.
A touchdown would have put Cincinnati up by nine points — a two-possession advantage that would have covered the spread for Cincinnati bettors — but Doaks curiously decided to go down at the 1-yard line.
Cincy chooses not to score here giving UCF (+4) the cover 😬
Prayers up for anyone with Cincinnati -4 pic.twitter.com/YoU70vKkEO
— br_betting (@br_betting) November 22, 2020Doaks falling short of the goal line caused UCF to use its final timeout with 1:34 remaining.
It looked like Cincinnati would simply kneel from there and run the clock out. But the Bearcats ran the ball up the gut twice more with Doaks, who was stuffed for no gain.
On fourth down, a shotgun snap eluded quarterback Desmond Ridder, who was able to pounce on the ball with UCF defenders pursuing. Cincinnati avoided a disaster, and won 36-33, but it was still an awful turn of events for bettors who had the Bearcats covering the spread.
More from Yahoo Sports:
From the Southeast on Saturday afternoon to Hawai'i in the early hours Sunday morning, there were some tough losses out there for college football gamblers. The Browns also caused some misery for NFL bettors, thanks to some aggressive moves from an interim head coach.
Here are this past weekend's worst bad beats:
Saturday
No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies at Auburn Tigers
Line: Auburn -3.5
Texas A&M dominated the stat sheet in this one, most notably a 201-19 advantage in rushing yards. The Aggies were dominating the scoreboard as well; they held a 24-14 lead and had the ball at the halfway point of the fourth quarter. They were also getting 3.5 points.
So, what went wrong?
Auburn's Noah Igbinoghene picked off Kellen Mond with 7:14 left to give the home team life. Eight plays later, the Tigers scored a touchdown to cut Texas A&M's lead down to three. Auburn got the ball back with two minutes left and found the end zone in two plays to go up 28-24. The Aggies couldn't do anything on their final possession, leaving those who took the underdog with a half-point loss.
Final score: Auburn 28, Texas A&M 24 (Auburn covered)
Florida Atlantic Owls at Florida International Golden Panthers
Line: over/under 59.5
It had been a few weeks since their previous appearance, but Lane Kiffin's Florida Atlantic Owls found their way into the weekend's worst bad beats once again.
Saturday's win was an impressive one, as Florida Atlantic won easily as underdogs in their rivalry game against Florida International. The Owls led 21-14 entering the fourth quarter, before pulling away in the final 15 minutes. That lead was stretched to 42-14 and it looked like Kiffin's team would just run out the clock -- and those sitting on the under at 59.5 were hoping for just that. But we've all seen this script before. With the clock running down, Rafe Peavey's 11-yard touchdown with 27 seconds left sent the total over.
Final score: Florida Atlantic 49, Florida International 14 (total went over)
Alcorn State Braves at New Mexico State Aggies
Line: New Mexico State -13
There's nothing wrong with having action on an Alcorn State-New Mexico State game. The few bettors out there who had New Mexico State -13 were glad they had action early on.
The Aggies led 35-7 late in the first half and looked like they would cruise to a blowout win. Alcorn State started to make it interesting, but New Mexico State still led 52-35 with less than four minutes left. With the Braves getting the ball back on their own 4-yard line, bettors who took the favorite just needed to avoid allowing a 96-yard touchdown drive. Unfortunately, Alcorn State scored 14 plays later -- with 26 seconds left -- to make some unlucky folks out there regret betting this game.
Final score: New Mexico State 52, Alcorn State 42 (Alcorn State covered)
Utah State Aggies at Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors
Line: over/under 73.5
There's not much to say about this one. Utah State led 56-17 entering the fourth quarter and bettors on the over needed one more point.
They never got it.
Final score: Utah State 56, Hawai'i 17 (total went under)
Sunday
Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns
First-half line: Chiefs -5.5
The thought for those who bet the Browns +5.5 in the first half was that Cleveland would be able to put together long scoring drives and hang around early in front of its home fans.
The result was right along those lines, as Cleveland allowed 21 points but scored two touchdowns and a field goal.
So, winner, right? Well, not exactly. The Browns did score two touchdowns, but under interim head coach Gregg Williams, they elected to go for two on both occasions. It was even more frustrating for bettors on the second touchdown with 26 seconds left in the half. After Duke Johnson Jr. found the end zone to make the score 21-15 Kansas City, Cleveland's two-point play failed when Jarvis Landry was tackled at the 1-yard line. Those on the Browns came up 1 yard and one point short of covering the first-half line.
Halftime score: Chiefs 21, Browns 15 (Chiefs covered)