4th Quarter Covers - Week 1
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com
Glancing at the scoreboard won’t tell you the whole story in most games. Here are the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week in opening college football weekend. Each week there are several teams that cover despite not necessarily deserving it, as well as other teams that played much better than the final score shows, get the details in this weekly column.
UL-Monroe (-1½) 17, Wake Forest 10: Despite posting fewer than 100 yards in the game, Wake Forest led 10-0 at the half Thursday night in a game that featured a big line move with the Demon Deacons initially a four-point favorite. By the start of the fourth quarter, the Warhawks had the game tied, capitalizing on a turnover with a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown. On its second drive of the fourth quarter, Louisiana-Monroe delivered a 12-play drive for the go-ahead score with just over three minutes left on the clock. UL-Monroe out-gained Wake Forest 352-94 in the game as the Warhawks were impressive on defense in the opening win but the game wound up being down to the wire.
Tulsa (-5) 38, Tulane 31: This American Athletic Conference opener featured Tulane leading the entire way, but a wild finish flipped the result. Tulsa got within one with a short field goal about halfway through the fourth quarter, but Tulane shortly thereafter connected on a 60-yard pass play for a touchdown to put the Wave up 28-20 with under seven minutes left on the clock. Tulsa would march down the field to answer, connecting for the score on a fourth down play and the successful two-point conversion incredibly tied the game with less than three minutes on the clock. It looked all for naught as on first down deep in its own its territory, Tulane running back Sherman Badie broke loose with a 73 yard run to inside the Tulsa 10. Tulane would end up settling for a short field goal try, and Andrew DiRocco would miss left from just 21 yards, a kick that would have at the very least sealed an underdog cover. Both teams had the ball again in the final two minutes, but both drives stalled midfield and overtime was needed. In the first session, both teams hit short field goals but Tulsa found the end zone going first in the second session. Tulane quarterback Tanner Lee was then intercepted on 2nd down to end the game, giving Tulsa the win and a miraculous favorite cover on opening night.
Mississippi (-10) 35, Boise State 13: The start of the season did not look pretty in this national TV game as both teams struggled with penalties and turnovers in the first half. By the start of the fourth quarter, Mississippi led just 7-6 as both teams squandered scoring chances with interceptions. While Boise State did a great job stopping the run, the Mississippi passing attack found some openings in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns in less than five minutes of game clock, including a 76-yard play to put the Rebels comfortably ahead 28-6. Boise State would answer with a scoring drive to get back within 15, but after failing to recover the onside kick, Mississippi was able to punch in another touchdown to put the game away. The yardage was fairly close in this game with the underdog Broncos holding a big edge on the ground. The final score was certainly a bit misleading in what was a sloppy opening effort for both teams.
Rutgers (+7½) 41, Washington State 38: Rutgers stormed out to an early lead in this game, but Washington State would rally to take the lead three different times in the second half, though the Cougars never actually got past the favorite spread at any point. Washington State led by seven entering the fourth quarter to put fear into those on the underdog that felt good about a win with the hot start from the Knights. Rutgers would answer with back-to-back scoring drives in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to lead 34-31, but it took less than three minutes for Washington State to get the lead back, up 38-34 with just over eight minutes to go. On the next Rutgers possession, the Knights were stuffed deep in their own zone and forced to punt, seemingly giving the quick striking Washington State offense a chance to score and subsequently pull past the spread, but the punt returner muffed the catch and Rutgers recovered at midfield. Rutgers was able to move down the field for the go-ahead scored with just over three minutes to go in the game, all but locking up the underdog cover. Washington State ran seven plays on its final possession, but they could not convert and Rutgers scored a nice upset win in its debut representing the Big Ten.
BYU (-14½) 35, Connecticut 10: BYU took control of this game early, but the favorite cover was in serious jeopardy late in the game. Down by 18, Connecticut went all the way down to the BYU 10-yard line but the Huskies came up short going for it on 4th down with just over six minutes to go. BYU would answer with a touchdown to put the game away as another Connecticut drive deep into BYU territory late in the game would also prove fruitless.
Colorado State (+2½) 31, Colorado 17: The Buffaloes led 10-0 into the second quarter in this Rocky Mountain rivalry game and scoring first in the second half put the Buffaloes back up by 10 at 17-7. A strong kickoff return put the Rams in good position and they answered with a touchdown drive but Colorado still led by three, just covering the narrow favorite spread entering the fourth quarter. Shortly into the final frame, Colorado State took its first lead and then the Rams stepped up on defense, holding Colorado scoreless in the fourth quarter to pull away with a minor upset win.
Ohio State (-13) 34, Navy 17: The spread on this big opening game was a roller coaster, opening at -17 then dropping significantly with Braxton Miller’s injury. The spread climbed nearly all the way back up before falling again on game day. For most of the game, the underdog was in prime position with Navy actually leading deep into the third quarter. Ohio State led by six entering the final frame, but a Navy field goal cut the margin to just three points, seemingly securing the cover for the underdog. It was not to be, however, as Ohio State delivered two long scoring drives to close out the game with the ATS win sealing touchdown with just over two minutes to go as Navy backers took a very tough defeat.
Boston College (-17) 30, Massachusetts 7: The Eagles led just 20-7 entering the fourth quarter after the Minutemen connected on a 77-yard pass play for their only score of the day. Boston College would pull past the spread with 10 points in the fourth quarter in a game the Eagles had over 500 yards in despite modest scoring.
Auburn (-17) 45, Arkansas 21: As a heavy underdog, Arkansas played a great first half sitting tied with the defending SEC champions at 21-21 at the break. After an Auburn touchdown, disaster struck for the Razorbacks with an interception returned for a touchdown late in the third quarter putting the Tigers up by 14. Storms were threatening in the fourth quarter and those on the underdog got a big stop with Arkansas holding Auburn to a field goal with less than 10 minutes left in the game to keep the margin at 17 points. A nearly hour and a half delay ensued with lightning in the area, putting Arkansas in an impossible situation to come back and finish the game knowing they had little chance to win. Auburn added a late touchdown to give the heavy favorite a very fortunate cover.
Georgia (-9½) 45, Clemson 21: This big primetime matchup featured Clemson dominating the yardage in the first half, but Georgia managing to match the Tigers at 21-21 with the help of short field drives and a kickoff return touchdown. After the high scoring first half, the third quarter featured only three points as the severe late line move on this game appeared to be wrong. Georgia would bowl over the Clemson defense in the fourth quarter, however, breaking long runs and scoring three touchdowns in a four-minute span to pull away, producing a misleading final score and misleading yardage totals in the box score.
Oklahoma (-34) 48, Louisiana Tech 16: Oklahoma was one of the biggest favorites of the weekend as far as FBS matchups, but the spread dropped four points throughout the week. The Sooners dominated the game and led 41-3 entering the fourth quarter, but the underdog Bulldogs would get two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against an uninterested Sooners defense, the second of which came with just 37 seconds left in the game for a spread spoiling backdoor cover.
LSU (-3½) 28, Wisconsin 24: The spread in the big Saturday night game bounced around between 3½ and 5, making for contrasting results for everyone involved depending on the timing with the closing number falling back to just 3½. Wisconsin was in control early with a 10-point lead at the half, growing to 11-points heading into the fourth quarter. Those on the underdog certainly had growing concern as injuries had decimated a Badgers defense that played well in the first half and the Wisconsin offense was really struggling. As often has been the case with LSU, the Tigers managed to pull ahead with a 28-24 edge in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin seemingly had it last possession deep in its own zone with less than two minutes to go as those on the Badgers +4 or greater held their breath. Gary Andersen oddly opted to punt despite the minimal chance that his team could get the ball back, but the move probably saved LSU from scoring again and earning a clear favorite cover at any number.