Irish eyes were not smiling after Notre Dame’s 34-24 win over USC on Saturday.
At least the eyes of bettors who wagered on the Fighting Irish as 10.5-point favorites and on the rivalry game to go over the total of 60.5 weren’t. Notre Dame squandered several scoring chances in this showdown in South Bend as the underdog and under cashed in what was the theme of our college football Week 8 betting recap.
Jeremiyah Love ran wild for the Irish, rushing for a career-high 228 yards and a touchdown. But after he was stopped short of the goal line on back-to-back carries in the second quarter, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr dropped back to pass on third down, scrambled, and threw an awful interception.
Despite the ugly turnover, Irish and over bettors were given life when Jadarian Price scored on a 100-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter to put Notre Dame up 27-24. Noah Burnette missed the extra point that would prove costly in the end and then shanked a 31-yard field goal try early in the fourth quarter.
Still, after USC turned it over on downs at its own 44 with 5:55 left, Notre Dame needed only to kick a field goal to cash Irish-and-over parlays. But Price was stopped for a 3-yard loss on second down at the USC 20, and Carr was stopped for a 5-yard loss on third down to set up a fourth-and-15. Rather than have their shaky kicker attempt a 45-yard field goal, the Irish went for it and failed, sealing the fate of frustrated gamblers.
All a Dream About Tennessee
Top 25 unders finished 14-6, cashing at a sizzling 70-percent clip.
Bettors who had the Alabama-Tennessee game to go over 60.5 took a tough loss in the Crimson Tide’s 37-20 win over the Vols.
Tennessee turned it over on downs at the Alabama 16 with 3:09 left, but got the ball back with two minutes left and had a first-and-goal at the 2 with 1:20 to go. Just punch in the otherwise meaningless touchdown for easy over money, right? Wrong. The Vols ran five plays and could not cross the goal line, as announcer Sean McDonough mentioned the over-under was 60.5.
After a run for a 3-yard loss and a pass interference call on Alabama, Tennessee had the ball at first-and-goal at the 2 again and ran for a single yard. But a false start pushed it back. After an incompletion, Peyton Lewis ran four yards with 10 seconds left and lunged for the goal line but was stopped just shy. The clock then ran out before the Vols could run another play. Many over bettors spent another consecutive week snakebitten, continuing the trend from Week 7.
Curious Cover by Coach
The top 25 underdogs went 11-9 against the spread with six outright upsets.
No. 3 Indiana appeared on its way to covering as a 26.5-point favorite over Michigan State after it went ahead 38-10 on Nico Radicic’s 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left. The Spartans then drove to the Hoosiers’ 16, where they faced fourth and 12. But rather than heave one to the end zone, they had Martin Connington kick a 34-yard field goal for the backdoor cover with 33 seconds left in a 38-13 loss.
Upsets Everywhere
The tone was set for our CFB Week 8 betting recap under Friday night lights as Louisville knocked off No. 2 Miami 24-21 as a 10.5-point underdog and +360 on the money line, and Minnesota beat No. 25 Nebraska 24-6 as a 6.5-point underdog and 2/1 on the money line. Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck, previously a leading Heisman Trophy candidate, threw four interceptions, and the Golden Gophers sacked Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola nine times.
Arizona State dealt No. 7 Texas Tech its first loss in a 26-22 upset as 8.5-point underdogs and +250 on the money line. The Sun Devils squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead before Sam Leavitt directed a game-winning touchdown drive capped by Raleek Brown’s 1-yard run with 34 seconds left.
UAB stunned No. 22 Memphis in a 31-24 win as 23.5-point underdogs and 11/1 on the money line. The Blazers held on after a goal-line stand in the final seconds in the debut of interim coach Alex Mortensen, son of late ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen.
BYU is ranked No. 15 and Utah is No. 23, but you can call the Cougars’ 24-21 triumph an upset because they closed as 4.5-point underdogs.
Likewise, you can call No. 12 Georgia Tech’s 27-18 win over unranked Duke an upset as the Yellow Jackets were 3.5-point underdogs. Georgia Tech opened the scoring with a 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Please Don’t Call it an Upset
You can’t call No. 17 Vanderbilt’s 31-24 win over No. 10 LSU an upset because the Commodores were 1.5-point favorites.
The same goes for No. 9 Georgia’s 43-35 win over No. 5 Ole Miss as a 7.5-point favorite. But you can call the Bulldogs’ comeback a close and unlikely cover. Georgia trailed 35-26 entering the fourth quarter and outscored the Rebels 17-0 to not only win, but also cash ATS tickets. Gunner Stockton threw four touchdown passes for the Bulldogs, and Peyton Woodring kicked a 42-yard field goal with 2:06 left to cover the spread.
No Sweat
Bettors were able to cruise to a few relatively stress-free covers as No. 1 Ohio State (-24.5) rolled to a 34-0 win over Wisconsin, No. 8 Oregon (-18.5) crushed Rutgers 56-10, and No. 14 Oklahoma (-4.5) whipped South Carolina 26-7.