One of the biggest line moves in college football Saturday came in the Oregon-Oregon State game.
The line jumped the fence at South Point and other sportsbooks after opening the day with Oregon as a 2½- to 3-point favorite. At the time of kickoff, the Host Beavers were 1-point favorites on most books and going as far as 1½-point chalk at South Point.
The weather turned out to be right.
Thanks to a memorable fourth-quarter comeback and the generosity of the Ducks, Oregon State snagged a 38-34 win and coverage.
“The Oregon game was bad for us,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said via text message. “We started the day at Oregon -3 and closed Oregon St. -1½. The Oregon collapse hurt us.”
Oregon State trailed 31-10 in the third quarter, reaching up to +2500 on the moneyline for in-game bets on Caesars Sportsbook.
But the Ducks fell apart in the fourth quarter as Oregon State scored the last 21 points from a 34-17 deficit.
First, the Beavers used short field to close within 34-24 before Oregon punter Alex Bales dropped the snap and had to hit the ball at his own 2-yard line. This led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Ben Gulbranson for Oregon State that put the Beavers 34-31 early in the fourth.
On their next possession, the Ducks played fourth and 1st from their own 29-yard line. Quarterback Bo Nix was stopped at 9:39 to play and handed the ball to Oregon State on a short field.
The Beavers took a 38-34 lead four games later on Isaiah Newell’s 6-yard touchdown rush midway through the fourth quarter.
Oregon State ran the ball 19 times in a row to end the game and won despite completing just six passes for 60 yards.
Oregon had a chance to retake the lead after putting together a long drive and had a first and a goal on the 5. But the Beavers held Oregon out of the end zone in three straight games before Nix incompletely threw in fourth.
Annoyed in game
Michigan hadn’t won at Ohio State since 2000 before bowling the Buckeyes 45-23 to earn a berth in the Big Ten championship game.
The Wolverines finished as 9-point underdogs on most sportsbooks and were up +9½ at South Point after sitting at +7½ for most of the week. The last time Michigan defeated their rival by 7 or more points was in 1996 when the Wolverines earned a 13-9 win as 17-point underdogs.
At Caesars Sportsbook, spread betting was almost even, with Ohio State accounting for 51 percent of tickets written and processed.
The game also rose above the 56 total, the ninth consecutive time in the rivalry to cash the over. Bettors pushed the number down after it started at 57½, and Caesars Sportsbook reported that 51 percent of tickets and 72 percent of dollars wagered fell short.
bad beats
Depending on how many players they had, Auburn bettors endured a brutal Iron Bowl finish against rival Alabama.
The Tigers, closing as consensus 22-point underdogs, trailed 42-14 on the first drive of the third quarter before closing the gap at 42-27 and 2-08 with a 39-yard field goal stayed before the end.
However, the Crimson Tide returned the onside kick to the Auburn 27 for 24 yards. Two games later, running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored on a 23-yard run, and the extra point put Alabama ahead 49-27 for the push.
It was a similar story for Michigan State, which finished as a 19-point underdog against Penn State.
The Spartans were down 21-16 after scoring with 10-52 left, and the weather were still fine after Penn State marched 75 yards in 11 games to finish with 4-31 to take the lead by 28:16.
But Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne was intercepted on the next drive, and Sean Clifford hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 35-16 lead after the extra point.
Contact David Schoen at [email protected] or 702-387-5203. consequences @DavidSchoenLVRJ on twitter.