Vandy +9.5 among weekend's worst bad beats

From Nashville, Tennessee, early in the day to Reno, Nevada, late at night, folks out there are still wondering how they lost bets by half a point on Saturday.

A late-scoring surge in the first half on Sunday in Cincinnati was costly for some as well.

Here are the weekend's worst bad beats:

Saturday

Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Commodores

Line: Florida -9.5

Vanderbilt led 21-3 late in the first half, which meant those who bet the underdog were up 27.5 points with the spread. No way the Commodores didn't cover, right?

Well, Florida would score the game's next 24 points, and took a 27-21 lead after Jordan Scarlett's 48-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. That play was the beginning of what would be a wild final 15 minutes for bettors. Vanderbilt responded by cutting the deficit to three with a field goal; Florida came back with a touchdown to go up 10; and then another Commodores' field goal made the score 34-27 Gators with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left.

On its final drive of the game, Florida attempted a 42-yard field goal with less than a minute left, instead of going for it on fourth-and-2 from the Vanderbilt 26. That decision paid off for Dan Mullen's team, as Evan McPherson nailed the kick to go up 10 with 37 seconds left.

Those who took the home underdogs went from up 18 to losing by half a point against the spread. Brutal. Bettors might want to think twice about betting again on Vanderbilt, which dropped to 1-9-1 against the spread in SEC play over the past two seasons.

Final score: Florida 37, Vanderbilt 27 (Florida covers)

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Northwestern Wildcats

Over/under: 58.5

It's not fun being a Nebraska fan right now. It was also not fun if you had the under in Saturday's game.

Nebraska led 20-14 entering the fourth quarter, and 31-21 with less than three minutes left. After a Northwestern field goal cut it to 31-24 with 2:27 left, the Cornhuskers got the ball back and were a first down away from securing the win. They couldn't get 10 yards, but were able to down their punt at the Northwestern 1-yard line. At that point, the only way Nebraska and those on the under would lose is if Northwestern drove 99 yards for a touchdown in two minutes with no timeouts. Realistically, a defensive touchdown was probably the biggest fear if you had the under.

There would be no defensive score, but Clayton Thorson led the Wildcats on an eight-play drive that he capped off with a 5-yard touchdown to JJ Jefferson with 12 seconds left.

With the under already a lost bet, the Wildcats went on to win in overtime, while Nebraska drooped to 0-6 for the first time in school history.

Final score: Northwestern 34, Nebraska 31 in OT (total goes over)

UNLV Rebels at Utah State Aggies

Line: Utah State -27

You could argue that making a bad bet on a team that never had a chance to cover is better than ending up in this column. Those who took UNLV on Saturday would probably agree with that statement.

The Rebels trailed 42-7 at halftime and it looked like it might get even uglier in the second half. But UNLV got its offense going and gave those who took the underdog hope. The Rebels scored 21 of the next 31 points and were covering the spread after Max Gilliam hit Tyleek Collins for a 79-yard touchdown to make it 52-28 with 2:58 left.

Down 24 points, UNLV then elected to attempt an onside kick, which was recovered by Utah State. Three plays later, Henry Colombi broke through for a 39-yard touchdown with 1:55 left to put the Aggies up 31. The Rebels couldn't do anything on their final drive, while bettors who backed them were left shaking their heads.

Final score: Utah State 59, UNLV 28 (Utah State covers)

Boise State Broncos at Nevada Wolf Pack

O/U: 58.5

Bettors who took over 58.5 and went to sleep at 1:30 a.m. ET when Boise State was leading 31-27, had a rude awakening on Sunday morning.

Those that were watching had to suffer through a scoreless final 16:21 in the last college football game of the weekend. To make matters worse, Boise State drove inside the Nevada 30-yard line on both of its drives in the fourth quarter, but came up empty each time. An interception and turnover on downs on those drives were what cost some unlucky folks out there. Nevada had one last play in which it tried to lateral its way in the end zone, but ultimately lost the ball to the Broncos. Just another half-point loss in this bad beats column!

Final score: Boise State 31, Nevada 27 (total goes under)

Sunday

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

First half O/U: 26

Most people will remember Antonio Brown's game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left, but those who had the first half under will have a different memory of this game.

It was 7-7 at the two-minute warning of the first half, with the total 12 points below the over/under of 26. Two plays and 53 seconds later, James Conner scored from 1 yard out to give the Steelers a 14-7 lead.

Bettors on the under needed to avoid a touchdown in the final seconds of the half, but had to know they were in trouble when Cincinnati's Alex Erickson returned the ensuing kickoff into Pittsburgh territory. Five plays later, Andy Dalton and Tyler Boyd hooked up for a 14-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left to send the total over.

What made it even more frustrating -- after 14 points in the final 1:07 of the first half, just six points were scored in the first 28:42 of the second half.

Halftime score: Steelers 14, Bengals 14 (total goes over)