Ultimate Backdoor Cover

On Saturday Ohio State was playing at Northwestern. The Buckeyes were favored by 7 (at least when I got my money in) and after a back and forth game, Northwestern had the ball deep in their own territory, down 4 points, with 10 seconds left in the game and no timeouts. The opted to try one of those multiple lateral plays that seldom works but then again there aren't many options in that spot. Anyhow, the ball ended getting booted back into their own endzone, OSU recovered the fumble as time expired and thus covered the spread on the last play!!

Obviously this didn't make a difference in who won or lost the game but had a HUGE impact with the millions of dollars that switched hands. Anyhow I ended up on the positive side of this stroke of luck err variance swing. I know situations like this happen every month if not every week, but the high profile of this game gave it some additional visibility.

Does anyone have any other stories of brutal (or fortunate, depending on which side you were on) covers?

I was on the NW side. That was the MOOSE of the year, so far.

I was also on the Buckeyes. Talk about a game where I assumed I had no chance almost the whole game, then get a lucky break to cover and win a bet was amazing. It always feels like I am on the other side of those scenarios. Maybe I am due for some positive variance. lol

I was very surprised I didn't hear Brent Musberger mention it at the end of the game. You can always tell when that guy has action on a game. He will always make comments or innuendos regarding the spread without specifically mentioning it.

Quote: DRich

I was very surprised I didn't hear Brent Musberger mention it at the end of the game. You can always tell when that guy has action on a game. He will always make comments or innuendos regarding the spread without specifically mentioning it.

Frank Gifford wouldn't have have missed this, he would have worked in a subtle reference to it!

Congrats on the win, it's nice to have it go our way once in a while!

Musberger did do that, it was even featured on Deadspin.

Buckeyes' Last-Minute Cover Had Brent Musburger Chuckling His Ass Off

Quote: Mosca

Musberger did do that, it was even featured on Deadspin.

Buckeyes' Last-Minute Cover Had Brent Musburger Chuckling His Ass Off

Thanks you are correct. I must have missed that as I was celebrating the win!

Quote: Mosca

Musberger did do that, it was even featured on Deadspin.

Buckeyes' Last-Minute Cover Had Brent Musburger Chuckling His Ass Off

You are right, I missed that too.

Plays like that occur more than youthink, except that it happens as the last play and all of a sudden its a "bad beat" or a fortunate win.

Lat year SF played and lost to the Rams. In the second half SF was backed up and ran a lateral play in the backfield. The player muffed the ball, and the Rams recoved in the endzone for a td. They were still behind but later went on to win the game. no one moans that it was a bad beat because it happened well before the end of the game.

There was I think an NFL playoff game, Mike Holigram was the coach(not sure if Green Bay or Seattle) where he took a safety at the end of the game causing the spread to go from a cover to a loss. I had already torn up my ticket and put it in an ashtray(back when they had same on tables). Lucky I found the ticket and it was accepted and paid.

Quote: NokTang

I had already torn up my ticket and put it in an ashtray(back when they had same on tables). Lucky I found the ticket and it was accepted and paid.

Great story! It's extraordinarily rare, but on occasion ripping up a losing ticket is ill-advised.

Exhibit A: Packers vs. Seahawks.

Exhibit B: the Arizona Lottery. From the August 2011 issue of Harper's magazine: "In 1998, the Arizona lottery began using a computerized system for the Pick 3 game. A Chandler woman named Ruth Wennerlund always picked the same three digits, 9-0-7 (her son was born on September 7). After a month under the new system, she noticed something peculiar: the number 9 had never been drawn. She called the Arizona Lottery to complain. They told her that she was merely unlucky. A few days later the Lottery announced that a glitch in their random-number generator had prevented any 9s from being chosen. The thousands of people who had played the tickets with the number 9 were offered refunds-- but only if they had kept their losing ticket stubs."

I know I don't understand the terminology fully and feel the in-game betting opportunity must be volatile ... but there are times when bookies announce their own "winners" instead of the "Umpire's Official Winners" and honorable bookies pay off Both "official winning tickets" and Bookies Winning Tickets as well.