Michigan State Kicked A Field Goal Down 24 With 30 Seconds Left To Cover Against Oregon

No. 6 Oregon played host to Michigan State on Friday night in Eugene, as the Ducks welcomed the Spartans into town for the first time as Big Ten foes. Michigan State drove down inside the five on their first drive of the game but fumbled on the goal line, and things went downhill from there for most of the night, as their offense could never really get going again.

On the other side, Oregon didn’t play perfect, with Dillon Gabriel throwing a couple first half interceptions in the red zone, but they still took a 21-0 lead into the half and quickly extended that to 31-0 in the early fourth quarter. At that point, those that bet the Ducks (anywhere from -22.5 to -23.5) felt pretty good about cashing a bet on Friday night. But the Spartans signed up for four quarters and were able to finally find pay dirt in the fourth quarter to make things a bit dicey.

As the game entered the final minute, Sparty had driven the ball into Oregon territory setting up a scenario where the only people invested in the outcome were those financially involved in the spread. Michigan State’s progress stalled out as they got near the red zone, and they found themselves facing a 4th and 14, trailing by 24 with 30 seconds to play. Jonathan Smith sent out kicker Jonathan Kim for a 42-yard attempt that was extremely important to some, and Kim put one between the uprights and in the eyehole of anyone holding a Ducks ticket.

Look, sometimes you gotta know where your wins are going to be as a head coach, and in that moment, Smith might not have been able to deliver an upset on the road but he could make sure the boosters cashed some tickets on the spread. I doubt Smith would admit to knowing what the number was, but if he did, he wouldn’t be the first to play for a cover to at least give the fans something on an otherwise dismal night. As for Oregon backers, they felt the pain of the backdoor hitting them in the face in a game where it never looked in doubt, but that’s always the danger with a big favorite is they could let go of the rope down the stretch.