4th Quarter Covers - Week 9
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 the ninth college football weekend and the final October Saturday. 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.
South Alabama (-16) 27, Troy 13: This was a four-point game into the second half, but South Alabama pulled away taking a 24-6 lead into the fourth quarter. A late field goal made it 27-6, but Troy managed to spoil the favorite cover with an 80-yard touchdown drive, scoring with just a minute left on the clock.
Oregon (-17) 59, California 41: The Ducks led by 17 entering the fourth quarter in Friday’s Pac-12 clash in Santa Clara, putting Oregon even with the closing spread, but short of a number that for most of week was 17½ after opening at 18½. Oregon went up by 24 to ice any comeback hopes for the Bears, but California would score a touchdown with just over four minutes to go in the game. Down by 18, Cal went for two, hoping to get the margin to just two-scores at 16 points. The conversion attempt failed as anyone on the Ducks rejoiced as a wild game with 100 points scored found the spread result hinging on that single play.
Mississippi State (-14½) 45, Kentucky 31: In its first game as the #1 team in the nation, Mississippi State was in control the whole way, but could not put Kentucky away. The margin never climbed above 14 points, which was the exact spread at times this week with a number that fluctuated between 13½ and 15. Up by 14, Mississippi State allowed Kentucky to score with just over two minutes to go in what seemed like a touchdown that would seal the underdog cover, but the on-side kick attempt was returned 61 yards for a Bulldogs touchdown, putting the final margin back to 14 points. Those on the Bulldogs on Saturday were likely losers, but those that played Mississippi State earlier in the week left with a win or a push.
Ball State (+3½) 35, Akron 21: Akron led 21-6 just before halftime, but in this game the Zips would not score again. Ball State had trimmed the deficit to just five points entering the fourth quarter and then taking advantage of turnovers the Cardinals scored 19 points in the fourth on four drives that totaled just 71 yards. Akron had turnovers on five of its final seven possessions to ultimately end its hopes of a possible MAC East title.
Central Michigan (-4) 20, Buffalo 14: These squads were knotted at 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter as Buffalo’s defense held firm after falling behind 14-0. In the fourth, Central Michigan went 98 yards on 16 plays to complete a go-ahead scoring drive, but they missed the extra point to leave the door open for the Bulls. Buffalo got to the Central Michigan 32-yard line, but came up empty as the Chippewas held on for the win and narrow cover.
Boston College (-13) 23, Wake Forest 17: For most of the way, this game was never as close as the final score as Boston College led by 14 entering the fourth quarter and pushed the margin to 23-3 early in the final frame on a three-play touchdown drive to put the game away. Wake Forest would answer and the Demon Deacons were handed a short field after Boston College fumbled on the kickoff. Quickly, Wake Forest was only down 23-17 with the underdog cover in hand. Wake Forest managed to force a punt to have a shot at the upset, but in the final three minutes an interception ended the threat.
Utah State (-16½) 34, UNLV 20: Utah State led just 17-13 at halftime, but a couple of big plays turned the tide for the Aggies to pull away. Utah State played third-string quarterback Craig Harrison in the game and he connected for a 69-yard pass play early in the third quarter and then the Aggies added a field goal on a short field after a lousy UNLV punt. UNLV got the break it needed late in the third quarter with a Harrison fumble, but the Rebels would fail to take advantage with a blocked field goal. Utah State pulled past the spread early in the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive, but UNLV would answer to hold the underdog cover, connecting on a 41-yard touchdown pass.
UCLA (-14½) 40, Colorado 37: This game wound up in overtime, but it looked like the Bruins would cover much of the game, up 17-0 early and still leading by 17 with a 31-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Colorado managed to tie the game with 36 seconds to go to force overtime, although the Bruins still won, getting a touchdown in the second session after three straight field goals.
Nebraska (-20) 42, Rutgers 24: The spread on this game opened at 17, but that number did not last long, shooting up to as high as 21. The Cornhuskers were in control throughout, but they led by just 18 heading into the fourth quarter after Rutgers scored in the final seconds of the third quarter, taking advantage of a Nebraska fumble. Nebraska would get back past the spread with a touchdown in the fourth to put the margin at 25 points, but Rutgers answered behind back-up quarterback Chris Laviano. In the final minutes, Nebraska was inside the Rutgers 15, but they did not need to add any points before time expired as they fell short of the favorite spread.
Miami, OH (-5) 10, Kent State 3: With a spread just a short of a touchdown, Miami clung to a narrow cover with a 10-3 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Redhawks are not known for defense, but Miami came up with a few big stops, holding Kent State to a short field goal attempt midway through the fourth quarter, a kick that was missed from 30 yards, and then getting stops and 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 at the edge of the red zone in the final minutes to hold on.
Michigan State (-16½) 35, Michigan 11: The Spartans took control in third quarter of this rivalry game with a defensive touchdown and a 70-yard pass play to lead 28-3 after a fairly tight first half. Michigan would score with less than four minutes to go in the game and down by 19, the Wolverines went for two and got it, certainly a play that loomed large with the spread on this game universally locked at 17 most of the week. It wound up not mattering as Michigan State took no mercy on its neighbors, completing a touchdown drive with starting running back Jeremy Langford with just 28 seconds left to leave no doubt about the favorite cover for the Spartans.
Colorado State (-19½) 45, Wyoming 31: The Rams were in complete control in the Mountain West rivalry game, leading 38-10 entering the fourth quarter and past a favorite spread that grew throughout the week. Wyoming did not quit and with two touchdowns in the final seven minutes, the Cowboys stole the backdoor cover, with the result-changing touchdown coming on a 38-yard pass play with only 15 seconds left.
LSU (+4) 10, Mississippi 7: LSU ran the ball with success against one of the top defenses in the nation, but they had little to show for it with three points through nearly 49 minutes of game clock when they got the ball back at their own five-yard line as Mississippi still led and was in position to narrowly cover as well as a slight road favorite. LSU put together one of the great drives of the season, going 95 yards in 13 plays for the go ahead touchdown, converting on a key fourth down play in the process, a play that likely ends the game had the failed. With still five minutes remaining, Mississippi had its chances late as they failed on fourth and short in LSU territory on its next possession and then with timeout use and a few LSU mistakes they got the ball back with just over a minute to go. Ole Miss botched the final drive management as they were down to the LSU 25-yard line, but wound up with a delay of game penalty on what would have been a 42-yard kick to send the game to overtime. The Rebels tried to run one more play with nine seconds left and quarterback Bo Wallace heaved up a desperation throw that was picked off rather than taking a short gain or throwing the ball away to at least set up a field goal try as the Death Valley mystique carries on.
Utah (-1½) 24, USC 21: Utah continues to have luck on its side this season, scoring another late win. Utah was out-gained again, but led 17-14 entering the fourth quarter as USC took the lead quickly in the fourth quarter with a 21-17 edge. After stopping Utah near midfield, USC got the ball back and took a lot of time off the clock in a drive down to the Utah 28. On fourth and short, the Trojans opted to go for it and they came up just short, leaving an opportunity for the hosts. Getting the ball back with just over two minutes to go Utah went down the field with the help of a USC pass interference penalty and wound up at the USC one-yard line but with only 12 seconds on the clock. The Utes delivered as Travis Wilson hit Kaelin Clary for the winning score.
Rice (-16) 41, North Texas 21: North Texas led 21-14 at halftime, but a Mean Green season that has featured erratic results featured a complete change of course in the second half. Rice took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter with an interception return touchdown and then added 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Rice led by just 13 at that point, but the Owls would up stealing a fairly miraculous cover with a touchdown run with less than a minute to go.
Louisiana Tech (-7) 31, Southern Miss 20: The spread on this game fell from 10 down to seven by game time and it was exactly a seven-point edge for the road favorite entering the fourth quarter. Southern Miss added to its chances to cover with a field goal to get within four, but Louisiana Tech scored two touchdowns in three minutes to pull away and a late Golden Eagles touchdown was not enough.
Texas State (+2½) 22, UL-Monroe 18: UL-Monroe led 13-0 at the half and then 18-7 entering the fourth quarter, seemingly in complete control. The final seven minutes of the game turned things around as Texas State hit a big play on offense for a 40-yard touchdown and with the two-point conversion, the Bobcats were within three. Monroe was stuffed with a chance to put the game away and the Texas State offense capitalized with another touchdown drive to take the lead with less than four minutes to go. The final effort for Monroe wound up short as well, stopped near midfield on fourth down as Texas State stole the victory on the road.
Western Kentucky (-13) 66, Old Dominion 51: The Western Kentucky defense has had several second half meltdowns this season and it appeared to be happening again as a 12-point halftime lead shrunk to just five heading into the fourth quarter and Old Dominion was on the doorstep to score early in the final frame. The Hilltoppers got the big play they needed with a 96-yard interception return touchdown to shift the momentum back and with a late field goal, Western Kentucky wound up with the win and a narrow favorite cover.
Arizona State (-4) 24, Washington 10: Those that just checked the score in the morning from this late night game saw a misleading final as Washington and Arizona State were knotted at 10-10 late into the fourth quarter. With Taylor Kelly back at quarterback, the Sun Devils produced the go-ahead touchdown with three minutes to go, but Washington appeared poised to answer into ASU territory. The Sun Devils sealed the game in the final minute with a 61-yard interception return touchdown in game where both teams were held to fewer than 300 yards of offense.