Late Quarter Covers
By Joe Nelson
Here is a look back at the spread result changing plays and sequences from last weekend's college football games to close out October and the Week 8 NFL results from Halloween weekend. There were several close and controversial finishes last week that left backers on both sides watching intently through the closing seconds.
College Football
Northwestern backers had another painful spread result this week as the Wildcats led 20-10 late in the fourth quarter and appeared in position to milk the clock, driving to the Indiana 30-yard line. The Wildcats unsuccessfully opted to try to convert on fourth down and Indiana got the ball back with just over a minute to go. The Hoosiers went down the field for a score in just five plays, getting within three points to narrowly cover the spread.
Kentucky and Mississippi State were tied 17-17 entering the fourth quarter despite punting in seven of their final eight drives the Bulldogs were able to cash in for a score early in the quarter to grab a seven-point lead, just past the late week spread. After a few more punts on both sides Kentucky put together a 17-play 70-yard drive to get deep into Mississippi State territory but with less than a minute to go an interception ended the drive and gave Mississippi State a narrow win.
Temple did not have much trouble with Akron last week but entering the fourth quarter the Owls led just 16-0, generally forced to settle for field goals despite several excellent drives. In the fourth quarter Temple added two touchdowns however including the second score coming with less than three minutes to go, just sneaking by the big spread.
Kent State led Ball State 20-14 entering the fourth quarter and one of the scores for the Flashes came on defense. Kent State pulled away early in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns, both of which were set-up in excellent field position due to turnovers.
San Diego State and Wyoming ended with a push right at a 10-point margin but it took a 59-yard pass play late in the game for the Aztecs to get there. San Diego State led by just three entering the fourth quarter and Wyoming fought back after the Aztecs pushed the lead to 41-24 early in the fourth.
Marshall led just 7-6 entering the fourth quarter and UTEP struck first in the final frame, taking a 12-7 lead. On the two-point conversion attempt an interception return gave Marshall 2-points which proved to be critical relative to the spread as Marshall’s touchdown with less than two minutes to go created the 16-12 margin to get the win and cover.
Tulane led SMU 17-10 entering the fourth quarter but the Mustangs took over the final frame, scoring three touchdowns to win 31-17 and get past the road favorite spread. Tulane had an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter and also failed to convert on its final drive in SMU territory.
Florida led Georgia 21-10 entering the fourth quarter before a wild finish. There were 31 points scored in the fourth quarter and these SEC rivals ended up tied 31-31 at the end of regulation. In overtime Georgia QB Aaron Murray was intercepted and the return nearly went for a score but Florida had to kick a winning field goal, as back-up kicker Chas Henry hit a 37-yarder for the win.
Nevada led 35-0 at halftime against Utah State, seemingly on track for a cover despite a huge spread but the Aggies fought back into the game, cutting the margin to just 28 points entering the fourth quarter. The second half momentum continued as Utah State scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to only lose by 14.
New Mexico State led by four against San Jose State entering the fourth quarter as slight underdogs but there was a lot of scoring in the final frame. San Jose State eventually took the lead at 27-23 with less than four minutes to go but as time expired New Mexico State completed a scoring drive to win by two. San Jose State had missed a field goal in the previous series which obviously proved critical.
Utah led Air Force 28-10 but things got tight early in the fourth quarter as Air Force put back-to-back big plays together for two touchdowns in the span of just over a minute. Utah did miss a field goal in the fourth quarter that would have earned a cover but in reality the Utes were fortunate to escape undefeated as Air Force dominated the final quarter in terms of yardage.
TCU led just 35-6 entering the fourth quarter but perhaps eyeing the computer rankings the Horned Frogs added two fourth quarter scores, eventually getting past a large spread.
NFL
Most of the game the score in the NFL match-up in London looked more like the type of football fans are accustomed to in England but Denver added a late third quarter score to take the lead 7-3. Denver pushed that margin to 10-3 early in the fourth quarter before San Francisco scored touchdowns on three consecutive drives to take a commanding 24-10 lead, the last of the scores being set-up on a short field by a fumble. Denver added a late touchdown to get back within one score and then appeared to be in great position to possibly tie or at least cover but an illegal block wiped out a 78-yard punt return with less than two minutes to go and Kyle Orton was intercepted with the Broncos attempting a tying drive as time ran down.
Closing as three-point favorites the Lions led by just one 14-13, entering the fourth quarter. Both teams exchanged touchdowns before Washington took the lead back on a 96-yard kickoff return about halfway through the final frame. The two-point conversion was missed to keep the margin at five and with just over three points to go Detroit took the lead back and converted a 2-point conversion to take the lead by three right on the number. A field goal gave the Lions a little cushion and then Mike Shanahan’s interesting decision to bench QB Donovan McNabb backfired with a Rex Grossman fumble adding another Detroit score to close out a wild fourth quarter with 35 points and five two-point conversion attempts.
San Diego led by five entering the fourth quarter but the Chargers added a field goal to get the lead to eight points in a game with a rising spread that closed as high as -6. Tennessee struck with a 71-yard pass play but the conversion to tie missed and San Diego’s touchdown with less than seven minutes to go proved to be the final margin as the Titans failed on downs deep in San Diego territory on their final possession.
Tampa Bay led Arizona 31-14 with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter but the Cardinals stormed back with two touchdowns in 23 seconds of game clock with a fumble return score following up an offensive touchdown. Down just three entering the fourth quarter Arizona took the lead with less than 10 minutes to go but the Buccaneers answered, going back up three with just over five minutes to go. Tampa Bay missed a field goal late in the game that would have sealed the cover as a +3 underdog but Arizona was intercepted on the next possession. The Cardinals actually got the ball back again and moved past midfield in the closing seconds but there was not enough time.
The Patriots led Minnesota 21-10 entering the fourth quarter but after Brett Favre led an excellent scoring drive, back-up Tavaris Jackson converted a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion to cut the lead to just three points. New England converted several third downs on a long 13-play drive, eventually scoring with less than two minutes to go and getting the lead back to 10 points. With Jackson at QB Minnesota actually led a 53-yard desperation drive but not points resulted.