Call it a bacchanal of bowl games.
From the Myrtle Beach Bowl early on Dec. 21 (won by Appalachian State, 56-28, over North Texas) through the Orange Bowl late on Jan. 2 (won by Texas A&M, 41-27, over North Carolina), football bettors had a gourmet buffet of betting choices.
But the premier bowls were the Rose Bowl between College Football Playoff No. 1 seed Alabama and No. 4 seed Notre Dame and the Sugar Bowl between No. 2 seed Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State played New Year’s Day.
When the first day of 2021 was in the history books, Alabama had defeated Notre Dame, 31-14. Yet in classic backdoor cover fashion, the Irish notched a meaningless touchdown late in the fourth quarter and covered the line that closed at around +20. Under the total of 66 also paid.
The latter game on News Year’s Day, however, generated considerably more fireworks. Ohio State, which drew late money and moved from +7.5 to +7 late, upended Clemson 56-21. The final score cruised over the total of 69. Money line Buckeyes bettors cashed at around +235.
After some volatile early line movement, the Crimson Tide are now generally -8 vs. the Buckeyes in the National Championship on Jan. 11. The total is around 75.5.
Elsewhere:
— The Las Vegas Raiders finished the season with a last-second victory over the Denver Broncos, 32-31, on Sunday. All it took was a game-winning touchdown rush with 24 seconds left and a two-point conversion. The Raiders, once 6-3 and in good position for the playoffs, finished the season at 8-8 and devoid of a playoff ticket. They failed to cover a line that moved to -3 before kickoff.
— There was a late holiday gift from bookmakers in the NFL on Sunday. The playoff-bound Kansas City Chiefs, the No. 1 seed in the AFC, rested most of their starters in a home game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. The books made Los Angeles a -6.5 favorite, but the Chargers covered easily in a 38-21 romp.
— Bettors witnessed a dramatic line move on the Florida-Oklahoma Cotton Bowl on Wednesday. Florida opened a 3-point favorite. But as it became known that the Gators would be missing starters en masse, the line swung sharply. A day before the game, it was Oklahoma -3 or -4. By game day, the money was pouring in on the Sooners and the line swelled steadily all day to -5, -6, -7.5 and even -8.5 in some locales. The Sooners didn’t disappoint, jumping out to an early lead en route to a 55-20 thrashing of the Gators.
— The Los Angeles Clippers were ripe for a comeback on Tuesday, and they delivered. Humiliated by the Dallas Mavericks two days earlier in a 51-point loss, the Clippers roared back with a 124-101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bettors who played the Clippers at -10 won easily, and the Clippers covered the first-half line as well, leading 70-50 at the break. Later in the week, however, the rebounding Clippers were -3.5 vs. the struggling Utah Jazz. The Jazz won, 106-100.
— NBA bettors may have been tempted to bet the Los Angeles Lakers -7.5 on New Year’s Day vs. the San Antonio Spurs. Bad idea. Two days earlier, the Lakers had routed the Spurs, 121-107 and covered -6.5 easily. The Lakers won the rematch, but it was the Spurs who covered in a 109-103 outcome.
— Dixie State may have been overmatched in its first Division I game vs. a ranked opponent. The St. George, Utah-based university was +37 in college hoops on Tuesday vs. No. 1 ranked Gonzaga. The Bulldogs defeated the Trailblazers, 112-67. In its first year of Division I competition, however, Dixie State (4-2) already has wins over Denver and North Dakota.
— The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, idle because of COVID-19 issues since beating Kansas State, 68-58, on Dec. 5 are now scheduled to return to action on Thursday at Colorado State.