# Any takers? 70.5 point spread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 6, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896 "2012-09-06T19:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/21 "2012-09-07T04:32:32Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > It seems hard to believe that teams will continue playing their starters and playing hard when they are up by 50+. They won’t. However college games can be mismatches such that the second and even third strings of the favored team can have more talent than the underdog. > [@septimus](#): > > I’ve always wondered: Do coaches or players (or fans) feel a large desire to beat the spread? Sometimes. Barry Switzer had a reputation as a guy who always tried to beat the spread to keep the very demanding OU alumni happy. Of course this meant that the OU spreads kept getting larger! It’s hard to say whether any particular coach cares or not. Naturally it’s not something that they talk about a lot. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/22 "2012-09-07T04:45:19Z")
How often does a Division I-A (damned if I call it FBS) game not have a point spread? I’ve heard of boxing matches, most famously the Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson matchup, not being bet in sportsbooks because the fight was obviously going to be non-competitive. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/23 "2012-09-07T15:33:14Z")
Were there no flag football teams for OSU and FSU to play? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/24 "2012-09-07T19:05:23Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Were there no flag football teams for OSU and FSU to play? FSU had West Virginia back out of a game at the “last minute” when they moved to the Big 12. As FBS non-conference schedules are set in stone years in advance, there probably weren’t many options. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/25 "2012-09-07T19:52:42Z")
I remember back in 1983 where a coworker was mad at me because I was from Minnesota, and the Gophers had just cost him a bet. The bet was something like: –pick 5 games –add 25 points to the spread –win the bet if all 5 games picked correctly The spread plus 25 put Nebraska as something like a 65 point favorite over Minnesota on the road, and the guy couldn’t pass that one up. Nebraska won 84-13. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/26 "2012-09-07T23:49:54Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > The spread plus 25 put Nebraska as something like a 65 point favorite over Minnesota on the road, and the guy couldn’t pass that one up. Nebraska won 84-13. I remember that game. One of the reasons the score got out of hand was it was a road game. NU had a limited roster to bring to Minnesota. The 2nd-teamers got tired, so they put the starters back in. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/27 "2012-09-08T04:47:14Z")
[The spread has fallen to 69.5](http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8347913/savannah-state-tigers-getting-70). Wow, Savannah State isn’t even a good FCS team. Nor are they a mediocre FCS team. They’re a totally shitty FCS team, 4-72 over the past seven years. Rather than bet on the game, I’d rather bet that anybody who bets serious money on this game has a serious gambling problem. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/28 "2012-09-08T15:03:05Z")
Time to jump on FSU minus 69.5 and hope they win by 70. ---
**Author:** ![Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Non_Lawyer_Paid_Spokesentity)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/29 "2012-09-08T18:37:46Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > It seems hard to believe that teams will continue playing their starters and playing hard when they are up by 50+. Were I the coach, I’d be wanting to avoid injury more than I want to keep running up the score. That’s a real nice story, except in the case of the OSU game it’s an out and out lie. The starters for OSU were all out of the game by the end of the first quarter. ---
**Author:** ![Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Non_Lawyer_Paid_Spokesentity)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/30 "2012-09-08T18:40:55Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The fact that a matchup this skewed is even possible is some sort of bad joke. Aww, look who doesn’t know anything about the business of college athletics. How cute. It’s a business decision, pure and simple. Savannah State is getting paid close to $600,000 for the games against OSU and FSU. Things like this happen ALL the time in college football and no one who actually knows anything about the sport thinks that it’s any sort of joke, good bad or other. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/31 "2012-09-08T23:07:29Z")
Well, it’s 42-0 with 9:52 left in the 2nd quarter. Good thing I didn’t find a place to make that bet, it seems. At this rate, it might be 70-0 by the half. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/32 "2012-09-08T23:17:02Z")
Hah! FSU missed the extra point. Only 48-0 with 8:02 left (in the first half.) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/33 "2012-09-09T00:25:50Z")
> [@Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](#): > > The starters for OSU were all out of the game by the end of the first quarter. It looks like FSU has their starters out of the game now, too. According to the box score, they’ve had two quarterbacks, five rushers and 10 receivers touch the ball. Because of that missed extra point, the score actually could end up 69-0 and the spread wouldn’t be covered. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/34 "2012-09-09T00:28:18Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > It looks like FSU has their starters out of the game now, too. According to the box score, they’ve had two quarterbacks, five rushers and 10 receivers touch the ball. > > Because of that missed extra point, the score actually could end up 69-0 and the spread wouldn’t be covered. Half ended 48-0. Bit of a lightning delay (maybe 20-30 minutes). They didn’t score on their last drive, either. Looks like they agreed to a running clock for the second half, with more rain and lightning possibly on the way. So who knows? Maybe the spread won’t be covered. Could be interesting… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/35 "2012-09-09T00:31:37Z")
Actually, that lightning delay was closer to an hour, according to the announcer. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/36 "2012-09-09T00:42:51Z")
> [@Non\_Lawyer\_Paid\_Spokesentity](#): > > Aww, look who doesn’t know anything about the business of college athletics. > > How cute. > > It’s a business decision, pure and simple. Savannah State is getting paid close to $600,000 for the games against OSU and FSU. Things like this happen ALL the time in college football and no one who actually knows anything about the sport thinks that it’s any sort of joke, good bad or other. The most important rule of this board is to not be a jerk. You should figure that out sooner rather than later. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/37 "2012-09-09T01:07:23Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > It seems hard to believe that teams will continue playing their starters and playing hard when they are up by 50+. Were I the coach, I’d be wanting to avoid injury more than I want to keep running up the score. I’m no expert in college football, but aren’t there situations where two teams will have identical win-loss records and the determination of which has a higher standing is based on total points scored? If so, then it’s good management for a coach to make sure he runs up his score when he has an opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/38 "2012-09-09T01:09:04Z")
College football (indeed all college team sports) are ruled by polls. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/39 "2012-09-09T01:15:24Z")
FSU will try their best to cover that spread. The people that give them money make their money on games like this. Jimbo ain’t no dumbo! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/40 "2012-09-09T01:35:24Z")
And they do NOT cover the spread. Coulda made some money after all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896.md?page=3)