College Football Week 6 Rewind
Another week of college football is in the books, as we say good-bye to September, and flip the calendar to October. We had a handful of teams resting this week, so a few less games than usual, as teams transition from the non-conference schedule and get ready for the regular season. We also had some games affected by weather, especially in the Mid-Atlantic and northeast, due to the remnants of Hurricane Ian.
The good story of the Kansas Jayhawks also continued, as it remains unbeaten at 5-0 SU. The five victories matches its entire total for the 2019-2021 seasons combined (5-28). We also had plenty of upsets, one near-upset of monumental proportions, and, of course, the bad beats.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 5 RESULTS
WAGER (Favorites-Underdogs)
Straight Up (SU): 43-14
Against the Spread (ATS): 28-29
WAGER (Home-Away)
Straight Up (SU): 29-28
Against the Spread (ATS): 30-27
WAGER (Totals O/U)
Over-Under: 27-30
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON RESULTS
WAGER (Favorites-Underdogs)
Straight Up (SU): 344-87
Against the Spread (ATS): 218-212-1
WAGER (Home-Away)
Straight Up (SU): 302-125
Against the Spread (ATS): 221-205-1
WAGER (Totals O/U)
Over-Under: 217-214
BIGGEST UNDERDOGS TO CASH
Texas State (+19.5 ML ) 36 vs. Appalachian State 24
Arizona State (+11.5, ML ) 45 vs. Washington 38
South Carolina (+11.5, ML ) 24 @ Kentucky 14
Ball State (+9, ML ) 17 @ Central Michigan 16
Utah State (+8.5, ML ) 34 vs. Air Force 27
Navy (+5, ML ) 53 vs. Tulsa 21
Eastern Michigan (+4, ML ) 45 @ Western Michigan 23
Purdue (+4, ML ) 31 @ Maryland 29
BIGGEST FAVORITES TO CASH
Georgia (-28) 42 vs. Auburn 10
Clemson (-20.5) 31 @ Boston College 3
Ole Miss (-19) 52 @ Vanderbilt 28
Wake Forest (-16) 45 vs. Army 10
Pittsburgh (-13.5) 45 vs. Virginia Tech 29
Ohio (-11.5) 55 vs. Akron 34
Oregon (-10.5) 49 @ Arizona 22
USC (-10.5) 30 vs. Washington State 14
BIGGEST ROAD FAVORITES TO CASH
Ole Miss (-19) 52 @ Vanderbilt 28
Oregon (-10.5) 49 @ Arizona 22
James Madison (-10) 42 @ Arkansas State 20
Wisconsin (-9.5) 42 @ Northwestern 7
BIGGEST BAD BEAT OF THE WEEK
Of course we're down south again. Ha.
Imagine, you're checking your app or looking at your ticket, staring at a total of 57.5. It's Friday night, you're trying to get your week off to a good start. You have the UNDER.
It's 17-7 at halftime in favor of Memphis. Houston has been doing nothing on offense so far. This is looking like an easy UNDER result. The Tigers add just a field goal, and that's the only points in the third quarter. It's Memphis 20, Houston 7 after 45 minutes. Just 27 combined points on the board after 45 minutes, and the total is...what? 57.5? Who wants some shots? Strangers are celebrating with you, maybe you're having a few beers. It's Friday night. Feeling good.
Memphis starts the fourth quarter with a 41-yard touchdown just 10 seconds in. It's 26-7, the two-point conversion fails. Just 33 points. We're still OK. Then Houston moves it down the field quickly for a touchdown, but it, too, missed the two-point conversion. Memphis up 26-13 with 12:44. Still feeling good, but those shots aren't sitting so well now. Getting a little uncomfortable.
Things settle down before Memphis boots a field goal to go up 29-13 with 8:00 to go. OK, we got this.
Then Houston rips off a 100-yard kickoff return for touchdown by Jayce Rogers, failing on the two-point conversion again. With 7:47 to go, Memphis leads 29-19, and it tacks on a field goal with 4:04 to go to make it 32-19. Dry mouth, sweating palms. Are you kidding me right now?
It gets worse. With 1:17 to go, QB Clayton Tune hits WR KeSean Carter with a 13-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 32-26, and that officially flips the total to OVER. Unreal.
And, if you had Memphis on the money line, don't think you're immune. After an onside kick, the Cougars move it down the field, and it's Tune to Carter for a 2-yard touchdown with just :18 left, making it 33-32, Houston's first lead of the day. Unbelievable comeback, too.
BAD BEAT HONORABLE MENTIONS
PURDUE at MARYLAND (Total - 59.5)
So Maryland led 23-17 with under four minutes left in regulation. Things were looking good - until they weren't.
Purdue QB Aidan O'Connell hit TE Payne Durham for a 4-yard touchdown to take the lead, 24-23, and UMD money line bettors were starting to feel the pain, and UNDER bettors were about to feel it, too.
The Boilermakers scored again with 1:20 to go, making it 31-23. That's when the Terps got the ball back, and moved it down the field quickly. QB Taulia Tagovailoa struck on an 18-yard touchdown pass to TE Corey Dyches to cut the lead to 31-29, and Maryland ML bettors needed just a two-point conversion to have a shot at OT, and a potential win.
Yeah, they missed, but the touchdown flipped the total from UNDER to OVER at most shops with just :35 left in regulation. Ouch.
UCONN at FIU (Total - 44.5)
This was a bad beat at a handful of shops, as the total closed at 44.5 at places like DraftKings, FanDuel, etc. We entered the fourth quarter with 36 points on the board, and there were no scores.
The Panthers of FIU picked up a safety with 5:22 to go, slicing the lead to 26-12. Things were looking OK still until UConn scored with 2:56 to go. QB Cale Millen called his own number and galloped 49 yards for the score, going up 33-12 to get to 45 points, flipping the total from UNDER to OVER at a handful of shops.
TEXAS A&M at ALABAMA (ML +800)
You could catch Texas A&M on the money line anywhere from +800 to as high as +1300 depending on the shop. None of them came in.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide were without QB Bryce Young, the defending Heisman Trophy winner, due to a throwing shoulder injury. QB Jalen Millroe made the start, and he did his job. Barely. He threw three touchdowns, but also coughed it up three times with a pick and two lost fumbles. And PK Will Reichard misfired on two field goals to open the door for A&M.
The Aggies, a 24.5-point underdog, had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds of regulation. Down 24-20 in the final ticks of regulation, Alabama was called for defensive pass interference in the red zone, giving the Aggies a chance with :02 left. QB Haynes King fired for WR Evan Stewart in the front right corner of the end zone, and the pass went incomplete.
Disaster averted for Bama, but money line bettors of A&M really deserved the win. That was tough, but the final pass wasn't really even close to being completed.
OREGON STATE at STANFORD (Total - 52, ML +155)
Heading to the fourth quarter, the Cardinal held a 24-10 lead over the Beavers.
To open the fourth, just 10 seconds in, Oregon State QB Ben Gulbranson hit the diminutive WR Silas Bolden for a 21-yard touchdown, slicing the lead to 24-16. The Beavers got analytics stupid, and went for two, missing it, so it stayed 24-16.
With 5:45, RB Damien Martinez rumbled 43 yards for the touchdown to make it 24-22, and the Beavers misfired for two yet again. I mean, if they just kicked the extra point each time, the game would be tied. But, totally, trust the computer and math over common sense.
Anyway, Stanford kicked the field goal to make it 27-22 with :58 left in regulation, and it looked like UNDER bettors would be fine.
Well...Oregon State struck for a 56-yard touchdown from Gulbranson to WR Tre'Shaun Harrison to win it 28-27, crushing Cardinal ML bettors in the process, as well as those looking for the UNDER. That's a tough one.
And, just for the record, Oregon State misfired for two on that final touchdown, going 0-for-3 on two-point conversions. Looks like they need to practice those in Corvallis if they're going to try them so much.
OREGON at ARIZONA (Total - 71.5)
This wasn't your textbook bad beat, but it hurts just the same.
We saw Oregon fire out to a 28-13 lead at halftime, which is obviously more than halfway home. In the third quarter, the Ducks' lead ballooned to 49-16 after 45 minutes, with most OVER bettors needing just a touchdown and extra point to grab a winner.
It was Arizona answering the bell with 9:51 to go in the fourth quarter, as QB Jayden de Laura hit WR Tetairoa McMillan for the 11-yard touchdown to make it 49-22, pending the extra point. Arizona elected to go for two, and missed, of course. So still just 71 total points on the board with 9:51 to go.
That's how it finished, as neither team scored. Again, not a true bad beat, but this one stung if you were looking for an OVER.
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