The dreaded backdoor cover tormented bettors again on Saturday in our CFB Week 11 betting recap.
Bettors who backed top-ranked Ohio State and No. 18 Miami as 29-point favorites on Saturday were poised to cash their tickets late in their respective matchups. All they needed was one more stop. But unfortunately, they didn’t get one.
The Buckeyes scored a touchdown with 6:19 left for a 34-3 lead over Purdue. But the Boilermakers then drove for their only touchdown of the game on Malachi Singleton’s 7-yard pass to Jesse Watson with 1:45 left to torch tickets on the Buckeyes in Ohio State’s 34-10 win.
The Hurricanes scored a touchdown with 2:53 to go to take a 38-3 lead over Syracuse. But the Orange answered with their only touchdown of the game as Joseph Filardi found Elijah Washington-Baker for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds left to crush the hopes and dreams of Miami bettors by a point as the Canes settled for a 28-point win.
The Associated Press Top 25 favorites went 7-8 against the spread, and overs went 8-7.
Close Misses, Closer Covers
No. 4 Alabama covered as a 10.5-point favorite over LSU—barely. The Crimson Tide kept the Tigers out of the end zone for the first time since the 2012 national championship game in a 20-9 victory.
LSU was still in position to cover after Damian Ramos kicked his third field goal to cut the gap to 17-9 with 10:28 to play. That’s where it stood when Alabama kicker Conor Talty lined up for a 44-yard field goal with 4:25 left. He nailed it to give Bama bettors the narrow cover.
No. 6 Ole Miss crushed The Citadel 49-0 but didn’t cover as a whopping 52-point favorite.
No. 9 Oregon beat No. 18 Iowa 18-16 but failed to cover as a 4.5-point road favorite. The Ducks led 15-7 early in the fourth quarter when Iowa kicker Drew Stevens drilled a 58-yard field goal to close the gap to 15-10. Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski scored a touchdown on a 3-yard run on fourth and goal with 1:51 left to all but seal the cover for Iowa. But not the win as Oregon prevailed on Atticus Sappington’s 39-yard game-winning field goal with three seconds left.
Favorites Come Through
No. 16 Vanderbilt took its backers on a roller-coaster ride before covering as a 6-point favorite in a 45-38 victory over Auburn in overtime. Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spence in the extra session before Tigers quarterback Ashton Daniels overthrew Cam Coleman in the end zone on fourth and 7. It was a rough beat for Auburn bettors who led 17-3 in the first half and didn’t trail until Pavia’s 7-yard touchdown run put Vandy ahead 31-30 early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers trailed 38-30 before tying it with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Pavia threw for a career-high 377 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 112 yards and a score.
No. 5 Georgia trailed 7-0 before scoring 38 straight points en route to a 41-21 win over Mississippi State and covered as a 9.5-point favorite. It was redemption for Georgia bettors who were dealt a brutal beat in our CFB Week 10 betting recap.
No. 3 Texas A&M cruised to a cover as a 6.5-point away favorite in a 38-17 win at Missouri.
No. 8 Texas Tech rolled to a 29-7 home win over No. 7 BYU, covering as a 13.5-point favorite.
No. 10 Notre Dame covered a big number as a 30.5-point home favorite over Navy in a 49-10 romp at South Bend, Indiana.
No. 19 USC rolled to a 38-17 rout of Northwestern and covered Friday night as a 14.5-point favorite.
Underdog Upsets
Cal knocked off No. 15 Louisville 29-26 in overtime as an 18.5-point underdog and 8-1 on the moneyline. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw a game-winning 3-yard touchdown pass to Jacob De Jesus in overtime on fourth down as the Golden Bears went for the win and got it in their first victory over a ranked team in 15 tries.
Wisconsin upset No. 23 Washington 13-10 as a 10.5-point home underdog and +320 on the moneyline to snap a six-game losing streak.
Wake Forest upset No. 14 Virginia 16-9 as a 7.5-point underdog and +215 on the moneyline. Carlos Hernandez returned a bouncing punt 88 yards for the game’s only touchdown late in the first half, giving the Demon Deacons a 7-6 lead, and they stayed in front the rest of the way.
Hoosiers Stun, Stay Perfect
No. 2 Indiana stayed unbeaten at 10-0 after Omar Cooper Jr. made a spectacular touchdown catch in the back of the end zone of a 7-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza with 36 seconds left to lift the Hoosiers to a 27-24 win at Penn State. But the Hoosiers didn’t cover as 13.5-point favorites after squandering a 20-7 lead early in the third quarter.