One second made a world of difference to the betting public on Saturday. A simple tick of the clock turned the odds of the first week of college football on their head.
Heavy favorite Michigan got a second shot at a Hail Mary, turning what appeared to be a 12-7 upset loss into a stunning 13-12 victory over Western Michigan.
It was equally stunning for the bookies.
“That extra, successful Hail Mary game was a massive swing for the book,” said BetMGM trading manager Adair Horne. “We went from a big winner to a big loser.”
This is what paralays can do.
Speculators from Las Vegas and around the country attended to recap the weekend that was in college football betting.
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Like the Clock
Michigan was a 27.5-point favorite at home against Western Michigan. The first drive went as expected, with the Wolverines going 75 yards to take a 7-0 lead.
But that would be Michigan’s only score until the final play of the game, in which the Wolverines supposedly had a run.
On second-and-10 from the Western Michigan 47-yard line, the final seven seconds appeared to run out after Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary fell incomplete out of the bottom of the end zone. But upon review, officials ruled a Broncos defender touched the ball while out of bounds with one second left, which ended the game … and put one second back on the clock.
The second time was a charm, as Underwood connected on a JJ Buchanan jumper to give Michigan the improbable 13-12 win.
That TD helped the masses get their money’s worth of money that included Michigan. And there were many of them.
“We took six times the amount of bets on Michigan’s moneyline compared to Western Michigan,” Horne said, noting that most of those moneyline games were on early bird tickets.
Added Joey Feazel, head of football trading for Caesars Sports: “Michigan was a popular pick on the money line for the paralays. Bettors were certainly pleased to see a second added to the clock for the second Hail Mary attempt.”
Additionally, a Fanatics Sportsbook customer placed a large bet on the game in the final seconds when a Michigan loss seemed inevitable. The bettor placed $10,000 on Michigan’s +2800 money line.
When the prayer was answered, that client won $280,000 ($290,000 total payout).
Top flight favourites
Horne said BetMGM had a mixed bag of Week 1 college football odds. Big favorites delivered in big ways for the betting public over the last few days.
“Customers found the most success with LSU-Clemson, Wisconsin-Notre Dame, Texas State-Texas and just about every other big favorite easily covered,” Horne said.
Lane Kiffin’s debut at LSU was a cakewalk, with the Tigers pounding Clemson 51-10 as 10.5-point home favorites. At BetMGM, LSU was the most-betted team of all in Saturday’s full schedule, taking home the most tickets and money in the spread.
Arch Manning and the Longhorns were 29.5-point favorites at home against Texas State and were outscored 59-7.
On Sunday night, Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13 as a 21-point favorite at Lambeau Field. At halftime, the Irish led just 13-10.
“Notre Dame’s coverage hurt, as Wisconsin put up a big fight in the first half,” Horne said.
Falling-Flat Favorites
Horne also noted several key games that fell in the sportsbooks’ favor.
“Bettors had the biggest struggles with Washington State vs. Washington, Colorado vs. Georgia Tech, Oregon vs. Boise State and Baylor vs. Auburn,” Horne said.
Indeed, all four favorites – Washington -23.5, Georgia Tech -6.5, Oregon -24.5, Auburn -6.5 – failed to cover the spread. And the Yellow Jackets completely lost against coach Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes.
Georgia Tech led 13-7 late but allowed a touchdown with 37 seconds left. Colorado then blocked the Jackets’ game-winning field goal attempt as time expired.
The crowd was all over Georgia Tech at BetMGM, more than any other team in an 11-game Thursday night schedule.
