Utah vs. USC: The Strangest Cover/Non-Cover in College Football Gambling History

College football bettors learned an important lesson last night in betting the Utah Utes vs. USC Trojans, as a score change caused mass confusion in Las Vegas sports books.

USC was initially posted on odds boards as a 17-14 straight-up winner but failed to post an against-the-spread win as 8.5-point home favorites.

Fans and players rushed onto the field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a potential game-tying field goal was blocked, but Trojans cornerback and special teams player Torin Harris picked up the loose ball, running it back for 68 yards into the end zone.

It seemed meaningless at the time until Pac-12 Conference officials took action two hours later.

A statement from the conference's officiating consultant, Mike Pereira, caused a shocking change in Sin City:

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"The new Unsportsmanlike Conduct rule is Rule 9, Section 2, Article 1. It states that Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls by players are administered as either live-ball or dead-ball fouls depending on when they occur. The rule does not apply to substitutes. All Unsportsmanlike Conduct fouls by substitutes are enforced dead-ball fouls. Since the game was over, the penalty could not be enforced and the referee stated it was declined by rule. The officials did rule it a touchdown, making the final score 23-14."

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USC was then changed to a 23-14 winner—causing anger, confusion and helplessness around one of the more heavily bet games on Saturday's card. Games involving the Trojans always create a larger handle in Sin City due to its close proximity to Los Angeles.

During my time working as a supervisor for Cantor Gaming at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the company relied upon an odds service (Sports Options) to post final scores within its books.

Once the score is shown as being final, management would input the numbers into its own system, and they would be sent out to odds display boards.

The result had even further-reaching ramifications for parlay bettors, as those exotic wagers offer high-priced odds based on pairing numerous teams together on a single ticket.

It's a situation that ranks high on the list of strangest covers/non-covers in the city's history.