4th Quarter Covers - Week 8
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 eighth college football weekend in late October. 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.
California (+3) 52, Oregon 49: The Bears were a -3 favorite much of the week before the line fell to near-even and then eventually shifted to the Ducks being favored by the Friday night kickoff. It didn’t look like it would matter early as the Bears had a 34-14 edge early in the third quarter, but Oregon scored three consecutive touchdowns to take a 35-34 lead early in the fourth quarter. Cal answered with a touchdown and a two-point conversion just after the 10-minute mark to lead by seven before the teams exchanged punts. On its next possession, the Ducks needed only three plays to find the end zone to tie the game. Cal burned the final three minutes of the clock and lined up for a game winning field goal attempt, but the 41-yard try missed and overtime was needed to keep all potential outcomes alive, including a record high total that closed at 90 and was only six points short in regulation. Not unexpectedly both offenses scored touchdowns with relative ease in the first session, but California had to settle for a field goal after a pair of penalties pushed a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line backwards to a much less favorable distance. It wound up being enough as the Bears sealed another win with its defense getting an interception, though for many the game was a push.
Oklahoma State (-24) 44, Kansas 20: The Cowboys opened as a 25-point road favorite, but the line quickly dipped to as low as -22½ during the week before closing right at -24. Those on the underdog were in great shape early as Kansas led 13-10 as halftime approached before an Oklahoma State touchdown put the Cowboys in front by four. It was still a four-point game late in the third quarter, but turnovers handed the Cowboys 10 points on drives of one and eight yards to take a 34-20 edge heading into the fourth quarter. In the final 10 minutes, Oklahoma State added 10 more points for a 24-point margin with five minutes to go. Kansas took its final drive to midfield and for the game wound up just 28 yards short of Oklahoma State in production, but the Cowboys escaped with a win or a push for many that gave the big number.
Wisconsin (-4) 17, Iowa 9: The Badgers led by just one at the half, but pulled ahead with a 14-6 edge heading into the fourth quarter. The Badgers missed two field goals in the game but after an Iowa missed field goal, Wisconsin successfully added three points with just 1:24 remaining for a 17-6 edge. Iowa would make things a bit interesting late however with a 77-yard kickoff return to put the Hawkeyes in the red zone late with a touchdown and a two-point conversion able to earn a backdoor cover. With under a minute to go, Iowa was ruled to have scored a touchdown on a Noah Fant catch, but after review the pass was ruled incomplete and Iowa settled for a field goal and then failed on its on-side kick attempt as Wisconsin held on.
Toledo (-10) 31, Central Michigan 17: After just three points in the first half, Toledo moved to a 17-0 advantage, but Central Michigan climbed back into the game with 10 points in the final seven minutes of the third quarter. The Rockets scored twice in a row early in the fourth quarter to move ahead 31-10 to seal the game, but Central Michigan climbed back with just over four minutes to go. Toledo picked up a pair of first downs on its final drive to burn the remaining clock.
Appalachian State (-21) 37, Idaho 19: The three-touchdown favorite had a slow start, leading just 10-6 at the break but with the help of a pick-6 and a pair of short field goals, the edge was 23-6 late in the third quarter before Idaho added its own short field goal. Idaho had another field goal in the fourth quarter, but it was sandwiched in between Appalachian State touchdowns as the Mountaineers had a 37-12 advantage with just over four minutes to go to slip past the number. It took 15 plays, but on fourth-and-6 with just a few seconds on the clock, Idaho hit an eight-yard touchdown to score the underdog cover.
South Carolina (-20) 34, Massachusetts 28: South Carolina held a 20-point lead halfway through the third quarter with a 34-14 edge over Massachusetts. The Gamecocks were done scoring for the day and the Minutemen added two fourth quarter touchdowns to secure the heavy underdog cover.
Alabama (-18) 33, Texas A&M 14: This hyped SEC West matchup lived up to the billing early as Texas A&M held a 14-13 edge early in the second half. Alabama answered with a 14-play touchdown drive and then a few minutes later got a big play on defense as they have done all season, returning a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown to lead 26-14 heading into the fourth quarter. The Tide added another touchdown early in the final frame to slip past the elevated spread and the Aggies were stopped on downs on two late drives, including reaching the Alabama 25-yard line late in the game but coming up empty.
Louisiana Tech (-18½) 44, Florida International 24: The production was close to even in this Conference USA matchup, but Louisiana Tech led 27-10 at the half and 34-17 heading into the fourth quarter. The Panthers closed to within 13 with a touchdown drive with just over six minutes to go but the Bulldogs sealed the cover by returning the kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Florida International failed on fourth down from the Louisiana Tech 32-yard line to end the underdog cover threat.
Maryland (+3) 28, Michigan State 17: The Spartans led by three through three quarters after settling for a short field goal towards the end of the third quarter. The home underdog Terrapins answered with a touchdown and after forcing a punt Maryland scored again to take a commanding 28-17 edge in a huge Big Ten game for two sliding schools.
Washington State (-7½) 37, Arizona State 32: The Cougars went up by 16 points early in the fourth quarter with a 52-yard pass play but the extra-point was missed. A punt return a few minutes later put the Sun Devils within eight after a successful 2-point conversion on a spread that hovered around -7 most of the week for the road favorite. Washington State went backwards on its offensive possession and handed the Sun Devils good field position and Arizona State eventually got within the spread with a field goal for a 37-32 final as Washington State was able to run out the rest of the clock, intentionally going backwards to burn a bit more time which created the bizarre negative rushing statistics for the Cougars.
Oklahoma (-16) 66, Texas Tech 59: Over 700 passing yards was enough for Texas Tech to cover in this Saturday night Big XII shootout, but Oklahoma was in position to cover a few times late in the game on a spread that was at -13½ to -14 early in the week before climbing on Saturday. The Sooners led by 14 for the second time in the fourth quarter after a 42-yard run with five minutes to go, but Texas Tech completed a 92-yard drive in the final two minutes to get back within seven. Oklahoma got a first down on its final possession to finally end an incredible offensive display.
Wyoming (-8 ) 42, Nevada 34: Wyoming pulled away in the third quarter with a 28-13 edge, but Nevada continued to answer in this Mountain West test as the Wolf Pack closed to within eight points by the end of the third quarter. No points were scored in the first 12 minutes of the fourth quarter as Nevada wasted a 12-play drive with a missed field goal. Wyoming sealed the win with a touchdown with fewer than three minutes to go to lead by 15 but a spread that climbed all week eventually hit -8 for the road favorite. Nevada fumbled going into the end zone in the final minute but it was recovered as the touchdown stood to make it an eight-point margin. Things got even more interesting as the Wolf Pack recovered an onside kick but on the first play for the offense Nevada threw an interception.
Utah State (-21) 38, Fresno State 20: The spread on this game rose a full touchdown throughout the week with the common numbers between -16½ and -17½ before a severe climb on Saturday. Utah State wasn’t in position to cover any of those numbers as they led by just three at the half and by just seven heading into the fourth quarter. With an 11-point edge, the Aggies completed an 11-play drive halfway through the fourth quarter to lead by 18 for the first time in the game and that edge held as Fresno State couldn’t get past midfield on its final possession. Utah State actually had the ball back in the final minutes and the game ended with the Aggies taking a knee at the Fresno State six-yard line as those that jumped on the favorite late didn’t get the late score that they needed.