Central Florida was the darling of bettors, undefeated against the spread in three games. That is until Saturday, when they were beaten outright by Pittsburgh, 35-34. The loss snapped the team’s 27-game regular season win streak, and destroyed any remote chance of the team playing for the national championship.
The Knights were a 10-point favorite to defeat Pitt on the road. One gambler made a huge bet on UCF, and now has buyer’s remorse. William Hill sent out a release on Thursday that one bettor had put a $166,250 bet on UCF to win on the moneyline. If they had won, the bettor would have collected $35,000.
The loss was extremely painful for both the unidentified gambler, and the Knights. UCF was leading 34-28 in the final minute, but Pitt scored on a trick play patterned after the one used by Philadelphia in Super Bowl 52. Panthers quarterback Kenny Pickett caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Aaron Matthews on the trick play, that Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi told reporters afterward, he believed would work.
“No, I mean, you have to have belief. You don’t believe or what?†Narduzzi said. “The worst thing you can do to an offensive coordinator is say, ‘Are you sure?’ “He’s got confidence. I got confidence.â€
Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State Cover Against the Spread
No. 1 Clemson now owns the longest regular season victory streak at 22. The Tigers were laying 41.5 points against Charlotte, and won 52-10.
Alabama was in danger of not covering the 37.5 points against the spread in its game against Southern Mississippi. The Crimson Tide were winning, 42-7, but got the back-door cover when Jerome Ford scored a touchdown with 97 seconds remaining.
Sixth-ranked Ohio State had the easiest time against the spread. They were a 39-point pick against Miami of Ohio, and downed them, 76-5. None of the three are undefeated against the spread.
Wild Finishes for UCLA, San Jose State
Despite being double-digit underdogs, UCLA and San Jose State didn’t need to cover against the spread. They decided to shock their opponents and win outright.
The Bruins were playing No. 19 Washington State on the road, where they were getting 18 points, and were a +700 on the moneyline. UCLA was trailing 42-17 in the third quarter, then scored 50 points to stun the Cougars, 67-63.
San Jose State was getting 20 points, and were anywhere from +800 to +1000 on the moneyline against Arkansas. They shocked the Razorbacks, 31-24.
To further insult Arkansas, the university paid the Spartans $1.5 million to play in Little Rock, in what many thought would be an easy victory.
LSU Wins Against the Spread, Easily Hits Over
Those who bet the over in the LSU-Vanderbilt had an easy win. The teams hit the over just two minutes into the second half. The Tigers also covered the 24 points, winning 66-38.
LSU has scored 40 points in four straight games this season, and are now 3-1 against the spread, hitting the over all four games. LSU now sits at 224 points on the year, the most by an SEC team over the last 20 seasons through a team’s first four games.
Stat of the Week
Before the Wisconsin loss, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh had never trailed by 21 or more points before halftime. This game also dropped his road record to 1-6 against ranked opponents. Harbaugh’s team now is 0-7 when the underdog.
Bad Beat of the Week
Houston (+5) and Tulane were deadlocked at 31, and looking like they were headed to overtime. With three seconds remaining, and Tulane at their own 47, quarterback Justin McMillan faked a kneel down before connecting with receiver Jalen McCleskey, who took advantage of two Houston defenders crashing into each other to score as time expired.