By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
New coach. Very similar results.
We’re talking about the UNLV Rebels football program, of course. New coach Marcus Arroyo’s charges took a neutral field late Saturday in Carson, California, against the San Diego State Aztecs.
San Diego State was -14, and bettors playing the favorite never had to sweat as the Aztecs rolled to a 34-6 victory.
UNLV’s lone score came on a 4-yard touchdown pass halfway through the third quarter. They converted only one of 15 third downs.
The total of 50.5 was never seriously threatened.
“We didn’t get what we wanted tonight, but I think we’re going to learn from this,” Arroyo told reporters after the game. “(The players) are hurting. I think we all are. We’ll play better. We’ll be a better team for it, regardless.”
UNLV next hosts Nevada Reno at Allegiant Stadium on Halloween.
But the big weekend show was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Las Vegas Raiders. Originally scheduled for Sunday Night Football , which would have been a prime showcase for Allegiant Stadium and the Las Vegas Strip, the game was moved to Sunday afternoon after several Raiders team members were placed in the high-risk COVID-19 protocol.
The betting number also moved, from Raiders +2 to as high as +5.5 before settling around +4 before kickoff as members of the Raiders offensive line were cleared to play.
The Raiders made a game of it for a while and trailed only 24-20 in the fourth quarter. But the Bucs broke the game open with two TDs within a 42-second span. When it was over, Tom Brady & Co. had cruised to a 45-20 win, and bettors with tickets that said -2, -5.5 and -4 had easy winners.
The final score blew through the total of 51.5.
“I’m proud of our guys, really proud of our team,” coach Jon Gruden told reporters after the game. “We had a tough week. We were in the ballgame, seven, eight minutes left, 24-20. It got away from us at the end.”
The Raiders are +3 next week vs. the Cleveland Browns.
Elsewhere:
— Khabib Nurmagomedev defeated Justin Gaethje in the lightweight championship bout of UFC 254 from Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., on Saturday. Nurmagomedev was a heavy favorite at around -300. Under 4.5 rounds also came in with a submission in the second round and paid -210. In fact, a black-chip bet on the favorite with the under won a modest $96.83.
Nurmagomedev, 32, announced his retirement after the fight.
— World Series Game 4 garnered plenty of attention after the Tampa Bay Rays won, 8-7, on highlight-reel bumbles from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth. The Dodgers rebounded to win Game 5 on Sunday, 4-2. Game 6 is on Tuesday with the Dodgers around -140 favorites to close out the Series.
— Big 10 Football returned over the long weekend. Perennial powerhouses Ohio State and Michigan won and covered. Ohio State, -28, defeated Nebraska, 52-17. Michigan, -3.5, routed Minnesota, 49-24. Long-suffering doormat Rutgers embarrassed Michigan State, 38-27. At one point in the week, Rutgers was +425 on the money line at William Hill.
— The NFL Thursday Night Football game was a seemingly dreary matchup between two struggling NFC East teams. But somebody was betting the game. The line moved from Eagles -6.5 to -3.5, then back to -5 before kickoff. Eventually the Dirty Birds prevailed in a modestly entertaining 22-21 victory.
This week’s Thursday Night Football matchup has Atlanta at Carolina. The Panthers are -3 with the total at 51.
— Early bettors playing the total over 61 or 62 in the Alabama at Tennessee cashed winning tickets in the Crimson Tide’s 48-17 win over the Volunteers. But the betting public pushed the total to as high as 66.5 before kickoff, disappointing late over bettors.