Fourth Quarter Covers
By Joe Nelson
Here is a look back at the spread result changing plays and sequences from last weekend's college games and the week 2 NFL results. There were several wild finishes that had spread result changing moments in the fourth quarter, leaving backers on both sides watching intently through the final minutes.
NCAA:
In a closely lined game Arkansas appeared to be in control with a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter. Georgia was stopped on downs for its first possession but the defense got the ball back and Georgia put together two quick scoring drives to tie the game. After both teams exchanged punts and Arkansas got the ball back with less than a minute to go and connected for a 40 yard pass play with just 15 seconds on the clock for the win and cover in a key SEC battle. Georgia's Hail Mary attempt came quite close in a very exciting game.
By game time West Virginia was favored by just 10 and was in position to cover the late lines the entire day, leading 28-0 at one point. Maryland hit two long pass plays in the third quarter and then added a field goal in the fourth to cut the lead to 11. West Virginia responded to grind out a 16-play drive ending in a field goal to pass all spreads on the game.
In Kansas City, Iowa State and Kansas State where locked at 17-17 entering the fourth quarter before Iowa State pulled ahead with field goal. The Wildcats responded with their best drive of the day going 83-yards for the go ahead score to lead by four to push or narrowly cover most late week lines. Those playing the game early might have caught the Cyclones at +5 or +5.5 but after Iowa State fumbled on its next possession the Wildcats added a field goal to push the margin to seven. Iowa State got the ball back with less two minutes to go and went 40 yards but could not get the tying score.
While Purdue did not dominate Ball State as a 16-point favorite and led by just eight entering the fourth quarter the Boilermakers looked poised to take the spread as well adding ten points in fourth to lead 24-6. On the kickoff Ball State got a 67-yard return and then connected for back door cover touchdown with less then five minutes to go in the game. Purdue was never a threat to score on its final drive, successfully running out the clock.
The yardage was almost even between Northern Illinois and Illinois and after a scoreless third quarter Illinois added a field goal to lead 21-12 with just over seven minutes to go. Northern Illinois quickly answered with a touchdown drive but Illinois would do the same, scoring with less than two minutes left to lead 28-19. Needing two scores to win, Northern Illinois kicked a 48-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to spoil the cover for Illinois backers and create a six-point final margin.
Penn State was dominant on defense but the offense stalled after a strong first quarter. Entering the fourth quarter Penn State led just 17-0 and after a missed field goal it appeared that Kent State would take the cover in a low-scoring game. Penn State hit a 48-yard pass play in the fourth quarter to lead 24-0 and that margin held up for a narrow Lions cover.
Georgia Tech and North Carolina traded punches in a back-and-forth ACC battle that entered the fourth quarter tied 24-24. North Carolina had more yards in the final quarter but Georgia Tech cashed in with two field goals, taking advantage of a critical North Carolina fumble to win by six as a slight underdog.
East Carolina led Virginia Tech 24-21 but the Hokies woke up late in the game to avoid a three-game losing streak. Covering a spread that swelled to 20 by kickoff did not seem to be a possibility but with four touchdowns in a ten minute span on the clock in the late third quarter and early fourth quarter Virginia Tech pushed the lead to 49-27. The last two scores came on an interception return and a 69-yard pass play following an interception and the Pirates seemed defeated on the final two drives, netting negative 14 yards.
Colorado trailed Hawaii 10-0 at halftime but finished the game with a flurry of points, taking a 17-13 lead into the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes ended as 14-point favorites with a line moving up all week and with two fourth quarter passing drives and strong defense Colorado got there with a 31-13 win.
Minnesota took a third quarter lead against USC 14-13 but the ensuing kickoff was returned 97-yards for a touchdown. The Trojans missed a two-point conversion after that score to lead by five entering the fourth quarter. USC would score twice more early in the final quarter again missing going for two on the second score to lead 32-14. After three consecutive punts Minnesota was able to put a 69-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes and the extra-point sealed a Gophers cover on the vast majority of lines.
With the line moving upwards all week Oregon State eventually took a 35-14 lead in the third quarter against Louisville to narrowly cover the spread. The Beavers failed to score on any of the final six possessions however and Louisville climbed back into the game with two touchdowns. Down seven the Cardinals moved the ball to mid-field before an interception sealed the win for Oregon State in a game where Louisville had a significant yardage edge.
Oklahoma took a 27-10 lead into the fourth quarter against Air Force to narrowly cover the late week lines despite getting out-gained. Air Force scored early in the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to ten and then stopped Oklahoma going for a fourth down on the Falcons 35-yard line rather than attempting a long field goal. Air Force went down the field for another score to cut the lead to just three with just over three minutes to go, which became the final margin after Oklahoma produced enough first downs to kill the remaining clock.
Marshall and Bowling Green were tied at 28-28 entering the fourth quarter but the ball stayed deep in Marshall territory nearly the entire final quarter as the Falcons got two interceptions including one returned for a touchdown to end up with a misleading 44-28 final margin. The Falcons benefited from two defensive touchdowns and had a huge time of possession and starting field position edge.
Buffalo and Central Florida were locked in a defensive battle tied at 10-10 entering the fourth quarter. The Knights put together a seven minute drive resulting in their first score in the final quarter and with Buffalo forced to go for it one fourth down in an unfavorable position Central Florida added another score off the short field to win by 14.
After falling behind 17-0, Auburn rallied to take a 24-17 lead entering the fourth quarter. Clemson answered with a score early in the fourth quarter for the tie and neither team was able to get far past midfield in the final 12 minutes, forcing overtime. Auburn was forced to make a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Clemson appeared to tie the game with a 27-yard kick. There was an illegal procedure penalty however and a shaky snap and a hooked kick on the do-over gave Auburn the victory, although Clemson backers may have been glad to see the miss, locking down the underdog cover and avoiding the uncertainty of further overtime.
Texas and Texas Tech were locked up at 14-14 at the half before Texas added a chip shot field goal to lead by three entering the final quarter. A 23-play 80-yard drive gave the Longhorns a score to go up by ten and Texas Tech went backwards in four of its final five possessions.
Fresno State and Utah State were tied at 24 entering the fourth quarter but Fresno State dominated the fourth quarter to win 41-24. The Aggies had just 37 yards in the fourth quarter and the first Fresno State score in the final quarter was aided by a blocked punt.
In a back-and-forth game Notre Dame and Michigan State entered the fourth quarter tied and that is where the game stood at the end of regulation. Notre Dame would kick a field goal in overtime but lined up for the tying kick Michigan State ran a fake that resulted in the game winning pass play. Most Irish backers still took the spread win as no extra-point was necessary.
Arizona jumped out to the early lead against Iowa using an interception return touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown to lead 27-7 at the half and 27-14 entering the fourth quarter. Iowa would respond with a score with less than nine minutes to go and the quickly tied the game with an interception return touchdown less than a minute later. The extra-point was blocked to keep the game tied and Arizona put together a 72-yard drive to go ahead for the win with less than four minutes to go.
Troy led 26-13 entering the fourth quarter and then exchanged touchdowns early in the fourth quarter with UAB to lead 33-20. The Blazers would answer with a touchdown to cut the lead to just six. On the next possession Troy moved the ball for 14 plays to burn over seven minutes off the clock but UAB got the ball back and eventually connected on a 44-yard desperation pass with no time on the clock, with the extra-point meaning a UAB win and cover.
NFL:
The Eagles appeared to be running away with Michael Vick’s first start, leading 28-17 entering the fourth quarter and adding a 46-yard touchdown from LeSean McCoy with just over six minutes to go in the game to go up 35-17. Detroit improbably rallied with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to cut the lead to just three points. The Lions would get the ball back but could not get anywhere to fall to 0-2 but taking a second straight underdog cover.
Oakland dominated the yardage against St. Louis but settling for field goals left the Raiders with just a 13-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. Another short field goal was added early in the fourth quarter to push the lead to nine points. The Rams put together a scoring drive with just over three minutes to go to steal the cover however as Sam Bradford and the Rams showed no quit.
The Redskins appeared to be well on their way to 2-0 with a 20-7 halftime lead against Houston. Washington pushed the lead to 27-10 with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter but Houston would answer with a score to end the third and cut the lead to 10. The improbable comeback continued with a field goal to cut the lead to seven but Washington was in position to add the icing field goal, only it was blocked. Houston hit a huge pass play to Andre Johnson with two minutes to go in the game for the tie. Houston got the ball first in overtime but elected to punt rather than attempt a long field goal. Washington moved into field goal range and Graham Gano appeared to nail the winner but a timeout had been called. The retry was missed and Houston moved quickly moved into field goal range and took the game and turned what seemed to be a sure Washington cover into a push.