Nothing can ruin a holiday weekend quite like losing bets. Here's to hoping you weren't on the wrong side of the games below, which happen to be this past weekend's worst bad beats.
Friday
Central Michigan Chippewas at Toledo Rockets
Line: Over/under 59
It would have been hard to enjoy Thanksgiving leftovers if you had the under in this game. With just over four minutes left, Toledo led 44-0 and the thought of three more scores didn't seem like a realistic fear for bettors on the under. Things got interesting when Central Michigan's Mike Danna returned a fumble 53 yards for a touchdown to make the deficit 44-6 with 3:58 left. Nine seconds later, Nevone McCrimmon's 45-yard touchdown made it a 51-6 lead for Toledo.
After not scoring on offense the entire game, Central Michigan drove it 73 yards in nine plays, in a drive capped off by a George Pearson to Jack Combs touchdown with 43 seconds left to send the total over.
Final score: Toledo 51, Central Michigan 13 (total went over)
Saturday
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Georgia Bulldogs
Line: Over/under 59.5
After dominating the first half, Georgia led 38-7 at halftime, and it looked like a long shot for those on the under to win their bets.
The scoring slowed down significantly in the second half, though, and after a missed Georgia field goal with 1:38 left, Georgia Tech got the ball back trailing 45-14 with the total sitting a half-point short of the closing total. Prior to their final possession, the Yellow Jackets had completed just one pass all game, but they had four completions on a scoring drive that was capped off with a TaQuon Marhsall 28-yard touchdown pass to Brad Stewart on third-and-10 with 39 seconds left. It turned out to be some unfortunate false hope for those who thought the under had a shot late.
Final score: Georgia 45, Georgia Tech 21 (total went over)
Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at UTEP Miners
Line: Over/under 44.5
This was yet another game with a late, meaningless score that cost those on the under. The final score in this one came even later than the rest.
Trailing 39-0, UTEP got its first points on a Brandon Jones to Erik Brown 41-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds left. It capped off a 20-point fourth quarter that sent the total over by a point and a half.
Final score: Southern Mississippi 39, UTEP 7 (total went over)
Colorado Buffaloes at California Golden Bears
Line: California -11.5
Colorado seemed to be the right side to play, and it should have covered. But that won't help ease the pain of those who took the Buffaloes on Saturday.
Colorado ended up outgaining California by over 100 yards, but a minus-5 turnover margin was ultimately the difference. The Buffaloes threw two pick-sixes in the first two minutes of the game and trailed 21-0 after the first quarter. They battled back and were down 27-21 entering the fourth quarter -- within the spread -- but ultimately lost 33-21 and failed to cover by half a point.
Final score: California 33, Colorado 21 (California covered)
Utah State Aggies at Boise State Broncos
Line: Boise State -2.5
For those who stayed up late, this was a great game that determined a spot in the Mountain West championship game. Bettors who had Utah State, however, probably didn't appreciate the ending.
Boise State led 26-24 and was facing a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line with eight seconds left. You couldn't draw up a more dramatic ending for those on either side of the 2.5-point spread. What happened? An Alexander Mattison touchdown to seal the Boise State win, which crushed those on Utah State.
Final score: Boise State 33, Utah State 24 (Boise State covered)
Sunday
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
First-half line: Vikings -2.5
For the second straight week, the Vikings played on Sunday night -- and once again, some unlucky bettors walked away shaking their heads.
At halftime, Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer told the NBC broadcast that he would not put the game "in the hands of the kicker" in the second half and would be going for it on fourth down.
What prompted him to say that?
With the game tied at 14, the Vikings drove into Green Bay territory on each of their final two possessions of the first half. Sounds promising if you had Minnesota -2.5 on the first-half line, right? Well, not exactly. The first of those drives ended with a Dan Bailey missed 48-yard field goal. The final drive ended with what initially looked like a made 51-yard field goal to go up three and cover on the half's final play -- but the play was blown dead due to a false start.
With the ball moved back, Bailey missed a 56-yarder, and despite an apparent roughing-the-kicker penalty, nothing was called and the game was tied at halftime.
Halftime score: Vikings 14, Packers 14 (Packers covered)