4th Quarter Covers
By Joe Nelson
Glancing at the scoreboard won’t tell you the whole story in many games. Here are the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week including the epic Michigan-Notre Dame game. Each week there are teams that cover that didn’t deserve to and teams that likely should have taken the cash, get the details in this weekly column.
NCAA
Arizona State (-10) 37, Missouri 30
Arizona State took a 30-16 lead early in the fourth quarter, appearing poised to pull away for a comfortable win against Missouri Friday night. The Tigers answered however and then got a big stop to set up the tying score with less than three minutes to go in the game. Missouri was able to get the ball back and moved into field goal position but the 48-yard try missed. Arizona State scored in overtime but Missouri’s offense could not match the score, though the Tigers took the spread victory.
Kentucky (-10) 27, Central Michigan 13
For the second straight week Kentucky went late into the game before getting much of anything going on offense. Central Michigan led 13-6 at halftime but the Wildcats got a few big plays late in the third quarter to take the lead for the first time. With just seconds left in the third quarter Josh Clemons broke an 87-yard run to put Kentucky up 20-13, still short of the double-digit spread. Central Michigan was stopped after a long drive and then Kentucky burned the clock with a 13-play 85-yard drive to bring the margin to 14. Central Michigan had backdoor cover potential with the subsequent drive reaching the red zone but an interception ended the effort.
South Carolina (-3) 45, Georgia 42
This SEC opener featured a wild finish as South Carolina took an 8-point lead into the final quarter. Early in the final frame Georgia connected for a touchdown pass and then went for 2, getting the conversion to tie the game. After a South Carolina field goal, Georgia took the lead 35-31 with a 15-yard run with just over six minutes to go in the game. South Carolina answered quickly, going nearly 80 yards in three minutes to go up by three. Georgia then fumbled on the next possession, returned for a touchdown with just over three minutes to go, leaving South Carolina up by ten. Georgia would force a push with a quick scoring drive but they would not have the chance to get the ball again as the Gamecocks ran out the clock for the win.
Virginia (-7.5) 34, Indiana 31
Virginia appeared in complete control against Indiana, leading 23-3 in the third quarter. Indiana scored to cut the lead to 23-10 and then got on a roll in the fourth quarter. Indiana scored early in the fourth to move to within six-points and then forced a fumble on Virginia’s next possession, returning the fumble 54 yards for a touchdown and the first lead for the Hoosiers. Indiana then quickly got the ball back with an interception and went right down the field to take a 31-23 lead with just over six minutes to go. Virginia put together a strong response with a long scoring drive and the 2-point conversion to tie the game with just over a minute to go. Rather than playing for overtime, Indiana was aggressive and a fumble after a sack gave Virginia the ball in field position to kick the winning field goal in the final seconds, although it was not enough to cover the spread.
Texas (-7.5) 17, BYU 16
The Longhorns had a very slow start to the game and eventually benched QB Garrett Gilbert and went with the McCoy and Ash tandem the rest of the way. Four players completed passes for Texas in the game as BYU built a 13-0 lead in the second quarter. Texas chipped away but trailed 16-10 entering the fourth quarter. Texas went deep into BYU territory early in the final frame but came away with zero points but the defense did not allow a first down in the fourth quarter. Texas scored on its next possession to lead 17-16 and the ball twice more, and needed one touchdown to cover the spread despite the early deficit. The game ended with Texas deep in BYU territory and the Cougars out of timeouts. One more broken tackle on the final first down rush would have earned a cover for Texas.
Arkansas (-37.5) 52, New Mexico 3
The Razorbacks out-gained the Lobos by a 2:1 margin but they were short of the spread entering the fourth quarter. Even with reserves in the game Arkansas was able to pad the score with two fourth quarter touchdowns to add to the blowout margin and cash heavy favorite tickets.
Vanderbilt (-1.5) 24, Connecticut 21
The Huskies and Commodores were locked in a tight game as Connecticut took a 14-3 halftime lead to 14-13 after a blocked punt recovery in the third quarter. Connecticut got more good fortune in the fourth quarter with a 64-yard fumble return touchdown and with a successful 2-point conversion the Huskies led 21-14 halfway through the final frame as underdogs. The turnover favor was returned however as Vanderbilt got a 50-yard interception return touchdown to tie the game with less than seven minutes to go. Vanderbilt held on defense and got the ball back and less than three minutes to go the Commodores got a field goal to win and cover.
USC (-7.5) 23, Utah 14
USC and Utah were locked in a tight defensive battle all night with USC leading 17-14 entering the fourth quarter. A lot of late action on Utah forced what was once a double-digit spread to just over a touchdown and books seemed to get their wish after eight fourth quarter punts, Utah’s potential game-tying field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a touchdown in the final seconds. Several players ran on the field to join Torin Harris in his run to the end zone and it was assumed that the touchdown would not count due to the unsportsmanlike penalty, leaving the final at 17-14. Underdog tickets were paid but then two hours later the Pac-12 ruled that the score did count leaving the final at 23-14 and USC tickets had to be paid as well for a brutal double-burn at several books.
Michigan 35 (+3) Notre Dame 31
Notre Dame appeared to be in complete control in the first night game at the Big House but the turnover issues kept popping up. The Irish still led 24-7 entering the fourth quarter with massive yardage edges as well. Michigan started to get some things going on offense with a four-play drive to score early in the fourth quarter. A quick defensive stop set up another Michigan score to trim the lead to 24-21 before the teams traded turnovers. Notre Dame had the ball up three with less than four minutes to go but could not convert a first down and had to punt the ball back. In just over a minute Michigan went 58 yards to take the lead, leaving just over a minute on the clock. A big pass interference penalty and a couple of quick plays led Notre Dame to what appeared to be a miraculous score taking a 31-28 lead and at least pushing on the closing line for many backers. Michigan was given 30 seconds to work with however and incredibly Denard Robinson hit Jeremy Gallon on one sideline and he traversed 64 yards while getting out of bounds on the other sideline, leaving a few seconds left on the clock for a final play. Robinson threw up a ball that WR Roy Roundtree went and got and Michigan completed a historic comeback in an incredible fourth quarter.
NFL
Green Bay (-5) 42, New Orleans 34
It seemed as if the defending Super Bowl champion Packers were in control the entire game but New Orleans wouldn’t go away. Late in the third quarter the Saints were stopped deep in Packers territory going for it on fourth down to leave the deficit at eight entering the fourth quarter. The Packers then pushed the lead to 42-27 with less than twelve minutes to go. The Saints were forced to punt on its next possession but then put together a quick scoring drive once they got the ball back to get the margin back to eight with just over two minutes to go. As was often the case last season despite the great year, the Packers offense could not put a team away late and the defense had to go back on the field as the Saints made the stop and used timeouts to get the ball back with just over a minute to go. New Orleans moved right down the field with a few big plays and ultimately was stopped at the goal line on rushing play up the middle. The Saints would have needed a 2-point conversion to tie the game but the scored would have flipped the spread winner in an exciting opening game.
Jacksonville (+1) 16, Tennessee 14
The cover on this game was more about when you played it as Jacksonville was favored by 3 early in the week. The release of QB David Garrard brought the line down to 2 at most spots and action over the weekend eventually flipped the line as Tennessee closed as a late favorite. You could have had a win, a push, or a loss on either side depending on your timing and there were likely some fortunate folks that caught the middle, taking Tennessee early in the week at +3 and then getting the Jags at -1 or +1 on Sunday. Jacksonville was in control most of the game but the conservative offense could not pull away, leading 13-7 entering the fourth quarter as the Titans hit an 80-yard pass play late in the third to finally have a positive drive. Jacksonville added a field goal early in the fourth and after swapping punts the Titans got in the end zone again to bring the margin to 16-14 with just over three minutes to go. The Titans were able to get the ball back and got to mid-field but QB Matt Hasselbeck was intercepted taking a shot down field to seal the game.
Arizona (-7) 28, Carolina 21
The Panthers surprised a lot of people with an aggressive offensive game plan with rookie QB Cam Newton. Newton had a few mistakes but ultimately played well and impressively passed for 422 yards in a dynamic debut. Kevin Kolb’s debut for Arizona started slowly but he had an efficient game rallying Arizona back from an early deficit. Carolina led 14-7 at the half and then 21-14 entering the fourth quarter. Kolb hit a 70-yard pass play for a tying touchdown early in the fourth and then on Carolina’s next possession a punt turned into a touchdown with rookie Patrick Peterson delivering an 89-yard return for the 7-point lead that would be the final margin. The Panthers had a chance to tie late in the game with a penalty-aided drive deep into Arizona territory but the Panthers came up a yard shy. The line on this game had been steady at -7 all week and a push was ultimately the result.