Late scores that pushed total overs and home underdogs falling apart were the biggest themes of the betting weekend. Well, at least they were for those who ended up on the wrong side.
These were the weekend's worst bad beats.
Friday
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Illinois Fighting Illini
Line: Penn State -27.5
Anyone who just saw the final score would have thought that Penn State easily took care of business in a blowout win. You certainly wouldn't be feeling too bad for those who took Illinois +27.5 -- but don't tell that to Illini backers.
Illinois led 24-21 in the second half before it all fell apart for the home underdogs. Penn State scored 42 unanswered points in its final six possessions en route to a 39-point win. While the Nittany Lions were scoring touchdowns, the Illini's final six possessions were tough to watch: punt, interception, missed field goal, turnover on downs, interception, end of game.
Final score: Penn State 63, Illinois 24 (Penn State covers)
Saturday
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks vs. Bowling Green Falcons
Line: Over/under 55.5
This one was bad. Really bad.
Miami (Ohio) led 31-3 with less than six minutes left in the game, and at that point it was hard to imagine a scenario in which those who had the under would lose. Even after a pair of Bowling Green touchdowns made it 31-17, you had to be feeling good about under 55.5 with less than a minute left.
Miami responded by scoring a touchdown with 34 seconds left to go up 38-17, which was still under the total by half a point. Bowling Green had no chance to win, but unfortunately for some unlucky bettors, the home team would play to the final whistle. That final whistle turned out to be a 40-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Grant Loy to Justin Sawmiller with zeros on the clock.
Final score: Miami (Ohio) 38, Bowling Green 23 (total goes over)
Stanford Cardinal vs. Oregon Ducks
Line: Stanford -3
Really, Oregon? That was the G-rated version of what bettors who took the Ducks were saying on Saturday night.
Looking back at what happened in this one, it's still really hard to figure out how Oregon managed to blow it. The home underdogs led 24-7 late in third quarter and had first-and-goal from the Stanford 1-yard line. Three plays later, Stanford's Joey Alfieri returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown to stay alive in the game.
That's not even the lost fumble that everyone who was rooting for Oregon is still agonizing over.
Leading 31-28 with less than a minute left, Oregon could have come close to running out the clock with two kneel-downs, but the Ducks instead gave it to running back CJ Verdell, who fumbled and gave it back to Stanford. The rest is history. Stanford tied with a field goal on the final play of regulation, scored a touchdown in overtime and then got a stop to win by seven.
Final score: Stanford 38, Oregon 31 in OT (Stanford covers)
Wisconsin Badgers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
Line: Over/under 44
Let's hope that no one out there had Oregon as well as the under in this game, which was going on at the same time in Iowa City.
With 57 seconds left, Wisconsin took a 21-17 lead after A.J. Taylor's 17-yard touchdown reception from Alex Hornibrook. Three plays later, Iowa's Nate Stanley was picked off by T.J. Edwards, and those on the under celebrated. But since Iowa had all of its timeouts, it wasn't quite over yet. On third-and-6, Alec Ingold needed only a first down to give Wisconsin the win, but instead, his 33-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left crushed bettors on the under.
Final score: Wisconsin 28, Iowa 17 (total goes over)
Sunday
New York Giants vs. Houston Texans
Line: Over/under 44.5
Entering Sunday, the under was 4-0 in the four combined games played by the Giants and Texans this season. Halfway through the fourth quarter, it looked like the under would cash again as those two teams squared off.
Houston was held out of the end zone for the first 52:23 of the game but finally broke through when Deshaun Watson and Will Fuller hooked up for a 6-yard touchdown to make it 20-15 with 7:37 left. The Giants proceeded to kill 5:29 off the clock and put the game away when Eli Manning found Sterling Shepard for a 7-yard touchdown on third-and-goal. At that point, New York led 27-15, and bettors on the under needed a scoreless final 2:08.
That final 128 seconds felt like a lifetime if you had the under. Or maybe more like a nightmare. The Texans worked their way down the field, converting a pair of fourth downs -- including a 4-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Lamar Miller with one second on the clock.
Final score: Giants 27, Texans 22 (total goes over)