B/R CFB Community: Celebrating the Best and Worst Wagers of the CFB Season
It's time to celebrate the good and the bad. The moments that got away. The no-brainer decision that played out exactly as it should have. The bad beats. The unlikely wins. All of them.
A year of college football has come and gone. What we're left with, of course, are our memories of the season.
When it comes to wagering on college football, that's where many memories were made. I can still recall some of the worst beats of my life many years later. They are scars I wear proudly.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The winners? Some stand out. But the losses tend to linger longer.
As we tie a bow on the college football season, we won't do so quietly. I asked Bleacher Report readers to provide their very best and worst bets of the college football season. They did just that, giving us an opportunity to take a trip down memory lane.
Let's explore.
A Well-Timed Under
User: @bananaclip6
Suggestion: ND/Wisconsin first-half under. Made my weekend in Vegas.
I remember this game well, because I also invested in the total. You had the under in the first half; I had the over for the game. We both somehow won.
For the game, which was played in late September, the total closed at 43.5. A grand total of 13 points were scored in the first half, so the first-half under covered with ease. In fact, the first 30 minutes of football were somewhat grotesque. (Well, unless you had the under. Then they were majestic.)
I thought the over was dead. Then the fourth quarter happened.
Through three quarters, the score was 10-10. Then, in the final 15 minutes, Notre Dame returned a kickoff, scored an offensive touchdown and then returned two interceptions for scores in the final three minutes.
A game that was destined to hit the under hit the over. Notre Dame, which won 41-13, almost hit it by its lonesome.
And yet, @bananaclip6 cashed that first-half under with ease.
What a wonderful sport.
A Stress-Free Semifinal
User: @rbobby5
Suggestion: UGA vs. Michigan, completely stress-free win
Sometimes, it takes a full game (and then some) to know if you bet the right side. Other times, it takes a few plays to know where you stand.
The Orange Bowl, one of our two semifinal games, is a shining example of this.
Within about five minutes, you knew Georgia was the play. The Bulldogs closed as a 7.5-point favorite, and that didn't feel like it would be close to enough once the difference in speed became evident. Again, that took all but 90 seconds.
The final score ended up 34-11, although it never felt that close. Georgia essentially sat on the football for a good chunk of the game once the Bulldogs, like the rest of us, knew the game was out of reach.
There were bigger blowouts this season. But few games carrying this kind of meaning rarely feel this definitive throughout.
Well done. Hopefully you doubled up on the title game. More on that one in a moment.
Parlay Buster
User: @jeffginald
Suggestion: Iowa losing to Purdue was the last leg of multiple parlays, and it cost me $2 grand
Now, this is where things get sad on a few fronts.
First and foremost, never close out a parlay with Iowa. I say this from a place of love—someone who has rooted for this program over the course of many years.
Iowa is, well, unpredictable. That's the nice way of saying it. There are other ways to say it, although let's stick with that.
This particular loss is fascinating for a few reasons. For starters, it came one week after Iowa conquered Penn State at home. The Hawkeyes were the No. 2 ranked team in the country at that time—weird, I know—and favored by 11.5 points to beat the Boilermakers.
Purdue responded with essentially the all-David Bell offense. Bell, the Boilermakers' star wideout, finished with 11 catches for 240 yards. Iowa's offense could do nothing but essentially turn the ball over, and Purdue ultimately won 24-7.
No drama. No comeback. No real signs of life. Iowa fell behind early, fell behind a little more throughout, and then lost. The No. 2 ranking lasted one week.
As for the parlays, that's unfortunate. To lose multiple parlays in such lifeless fashion stings.
This wasn't a bad beat; it was just a bad bet.
Hey, we've all been there.
Tar Heels' Tanking
User: @ryanperrycanes3
Suggestion: Tar Heels vs. Wolfpack… Tar Heels meltdown with a nine-point lead and two minutes… cost me… bad beat
Oh, I remember this one. In fact, the text messages that came when this meltdown was happening—from people who shared in your angst—were extremely unpleasant. Given what happened, it's hard to blame them.
November 26, 2021. It was the day after Thanksgiving. After falling behind 14-0, North Carolina built up a 10-point lead in the third quarter. Then, with a little over two minutes remaining, the Tar Heels kicked a field goal to take a nine-point lead.
It felt like the game was over. But it was not.
NC State scored a touchdown less than a minute later. Then the Wolfpack recovered an onside kick. Then NC State scored again. The Wolfpack did all this in 63 seconds, winning 34-30.
UNC was a 6.5-point underdog. If you took the points, you stumbled into an uncomfortable win. But if you bet the Tar Heels on the moneyline, as this fine gentleman did, you lost by four despite being up nine points with a little more than two minutes left.
No-Lose Natty
User: @Rollhoo
Suggestion: I Put money on Alabama and Georgia to win the national championship preseason
This is a rare, tremendous scenario. Winning a future bet in this sport is hard enough; heading into a final game with a guaranteed victory is a tremendous feat.
The fact that Georgia ended up winning the national championship is even better. The Bulldogs were around 6/1 to win the national title this offseason, per Sports Betting Dime. Alabama was the favorite, a role it is rather accustomed to, and could be had in the 3/1 range.
A Georgia win, assuming the bets were equal, meant more money. (As someone who also cashed a future ticket on the Bulldogs, I can attest to how good this feels.)
I, however, did not have both teams. Considering they play in the same conference, the fact that they met twice over a six-week stretch is a wonderful thing. Again, this is not a normal situation.
That's a stress-free win, even though the game was anything but.
Enjoy it. Celebrate it. Cash it.
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.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
