Florida State led Clemson 20-17 with less than eight minutes to go in the game.
At that point, if you’d bet on FSU (the line was FSU +9.5 in most places), you had to be feeling pretty solid about how things had played out. Even after Clemson scored to take a 24-17 lead, you probably felt safe; after all, if Clemson stopped an FSU drive, they’d simply run out the clock.
Except then, with no time left, Florida State had to run the lateral play, the bane of gamblers on the right side of the line.
Imagine having Florida State +9.5, leading late in the fourth quarter, and seeing things finish this way (including a questionable ruling!)
pic.twitter.com/Z7lGku5jlR — The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 30, 2021
Cue the classic SVP Bad Beats opening credits: “Oh no.”
There are about five moments throughout that play that could have seen the game end 24-20. That’s up to and including the ball coming to a stationary rest inside the five, with the Clemson defender clearly unsure whether he should fall on it or try to scoop and score.
He decides the latter, gets blasted into the end zone, and that was that.
To make matters better, the over was also around 47 in most markets, which meant an entirely different group of bettors had reason to throw things.
Gambling is for grown-ups, folks.