4th Quarter Covers - Week 5
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com
Glancing at the scoreboard won’t tell you the whole story in most games. Here are some of the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week in the fifth big college football weekend to close September.
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.
Pittsburgh (-20) 42, Rice 10: Taking some frustration out after a disappointing start to the season Pittsburgh opened up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and made it 28-0 at halftime. Rice regrouped in the second half with defensive stops and two scoring drives to pull within the spread through three quarters, trailing 28-10. The Panthers would prevail however scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter while Rice had a pair of fourth quarter interceptions in Pittsburgh territory.
South Florida (-21½) 61, East Carolina 31: A three-touchdown underdog that scores in the 30s has to feel pretty good about its chances to cover and early on East Carolina traded punches with the undefeated Bulls, trailing just 31-24 at halftime even with allowing a long interception return touchdown. Deep into the third quarter it was still a seven-point game but South Florida scored 17 points in about five minutes of game clock with the second two scores coming on drives of just seven and 33 yards. The Bulls added another late score to make for a rather misleading 30-point final margin and road favorite cover.
NC State (-14) 33, Syracuse 25: In what some figured could be a letdown game NC State took control early against Syracuse with a 26-7 edge at halftime. The Orange picked up 10 points in the third quarter however to get back in the game before NC State completed a 10-play touchdown drive with about 10 minutes to go, sitting just past the favorite spread with a 16-point lead. Syracuse opted to go for it on 4th-and-10 from the NC State 15 and failed but pinned deep the Wolfpack were forced to punt and a strong return set-up the Orange for a 33-yard touchdown drive to climb within the spread with just fewer than five minutes remaining. The Orange got the two-conversion to make it a one-score game but the on-side kick failed and NC State was able to move the chains enough to run out the clock.
Houston (-10½) 20, Temple 13: The Cougars led 20-0 early in the third quarter but Temple proved resilient. The Owls added a field goal and then got a big defensive stop to force a punt, eventually delivering an 85-yard touchdown drive to close to within 10 points and just within the underdog spread early in the fourth quarter. Temple added another field goal and eventually had the ball back near midfield but the final two Temple drives ended on downs and then with a late interception.
Florida State (-7½) 26, Wake Forest 19: The Seminoles lost on the opening and closing number but much of the week -7 was the price. At no point in the game until the final minute did Florida State lead by seven however as many on the underdog Demon Deacons left with a tough-luck push with Wake Forest looking like the superior squad most of the way. Wake Forest led 19-16 early in the fourth quarter before Florida State managed a tying field goal.
A marginal Wake Forest punt with the Demon Deacons pinned deep gave the Seminoles great field position heading into the final minute and on 1st down the James Blackman hit Auden Tate for a 40-yard touchdown. Wake Forest made things interesting late reaching the Florida State 38-yard-line in the final seconds but Florida State escaped and a missed extra-point for Wake Forest in the second quarter wound up proving to be an important play relative to the number as well.
Wisconsin (-16) 33, Northwestern 24: The Badgers were short of the spread up 21-10 through three quarters, recovering from a sloppy first half. The Badgers added a field goal in the third quarter and then returned an interception for a touchdown to suddenly slip past the favorite spread with a 31-10 advantage. Wisconsin’s defense let up in the final minutes as the Wildcats put together back-to-back touchdown drives and actually had the ball back down just seven in the final minute. The Wildcats wound up being caught with a sack in the end zone for a safety that effectively ended the game but the late charge was enough for the underdog cover.
Navy (-7½) 31, Tulsa 21: The home underdog Hurricane took a 14-0 lead after the first quarter but Navy took over from there, getting back in front 17-14 late in the third quarter and getting past the spread early in the fourth quarter, eventually scoring 31 consecutive points. Tulsa would finally answer with seven minutes to go to get back within 10 but the road favorite cover held as Navy stopped Tulsa on fourth down in Navy territory late in the game.
SMU (-17) 49, Connecticut 28: The Huskies connected for a 59-yard pass play with a successful two-point conversion to tie this game early in the fourth quarter. SMU fended off the upset threat and wound up with a very fortunate cover scoring three touchdowns in the final twelve minutes with the cover clinching score following Connecticut going for it on 4th-and-9 from its own 29-yard-line. SMU scored one play later and then Connecticut fumbled on its kickoff return to spoil any chance of getting back within the number.
Arkansas (-18) 42, New Mexico State 24: The Razorbacks led 21-0 in the second quarter but New Mexico State climbed back in the game. The Aggies were down just 11 early in the third quarter, sitting in position to cover on a spread that opened at +16½ but reached as high as +19½ much of the week before settling at +18. Things fell apart after a great drive to start the second half however as Arkansas scored back-to-back touchdowns surrounding a New Mexico State fumble, leading by 25 at the start of the final quarter. New Mexico State scored with relative ease to cut the margin to exactly 18 points again and ultimately waved the white flag with a pair of late punts.
UL-Monroe (-8½) 51, Coastal Carolina 43: The Warhawks were opening line and closing line losers last week but -7 was a common number on this game Saturday afternoon. It didn’t appear that the number would matter as UL-Monore went up by 15 in the third quarter but Coastal Carolina scored early in the fourth, though failing going for two, to trial by nine. That score held for more than 12 minutes but the Chanticleers delivered another touchdown drive with just over three minutes remaining to cut the margin to just two points.
The defense forced a punt but only 20 seconds remained when Coastal Carolina got the ball back on its own 33-yard-line. After a pair of incomplete passes one play remained and lateral attempts turned to a fumble which the Warhawks returned for a touchdown. With time expired the extra-point try was unnecessary for an eight-point final margin and a number of close call wagers that shifted on that final play.
Louisiana Tech (-11½) 34, South Alabama 16: A week after Louisiana Tech had its lead erased in the fourth quarter the Bulldogs managed to pull away in the fourth quarter this week. Through three quarters the double-digit favorite led by just one at 17-16 but Louisiana Tech doubled its score in the final frame including scoring 10 points in the final five minutes to slip past the favorite spread with the decisive touchdown following the Jaguars going for it on 4th down deep in their own territory.
Oregon (-17) 45, California 24: The Ducks jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter but California’s defense adjusted and kept the Bears in the game, eventually getting back within a single-score with about 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, down 24-17. After climbing back into the game the Bears allowed a 68-yard touchdown run to take away any momentum the underdog had gained and the only California turnover of the game followed with a fumble a few plays later, setting up an 18-yard touchdown drive to put Oregon up by 21.
California answered to get within the late week spread trailing 38-24 with fewer than five minutes remaining. The Bears forced a punt on defense but California was forced to go for it on 4th-and-10 from its own 23-yard line. They failed and Oregon added the cover-stealing touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. The Ducks finished the game without Justin Herbert who broke his collarbone and will be out for several weeks.