# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/41 "2012-09-09T01:37:20Z")
Saw a tweet that weather canceled the FSU/Savannah State game. 55-0 early in the third qtr. What was the spread? ---
**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, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/42 "2012-09-09T01:41:35Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > 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! FSU is now playing their third-string quarterback. He’s passed for a touchdown, but at least they’re trying to be sporting about it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/43 "2012-09-09T01:42:05Z")
I think it was still 69.5. They only needed 15 more to cover; I think they would have done it. Do bookies honor bets on cancelled games or is that a push? ---
**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, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/44 "2012-09-09T01:44:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > And they do NOT cover the spread. Coulda made some money after all. No, game was called due to lightning. All bets off. FSU officially wins but all bets are cancelled by Vegas and bookies. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/45 "2012-09-09T01:45:33Z")
Wait, I see now that they’re calling the game as “officially” ended, as opposed to “cancelled.” ---
**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, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/46 "2012-09-09T01:47:36Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > FSU is now playing their third-string quarterback. He’s passed for a touchdown, but at least they’re trying to be sporting about it. That’s only because they knew they still would have covered. They were playing the equivalent of an average high school team. If the spread was 100, FSU might have left in its 2nd string QB a bit longer. 😃 ---
**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, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/47 "2012-09-09T02:00:11Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > No, game was called due to lightning. All bets off. FSU officially wins but all bets are cancelled by Vegas and bookies. Ah. I saw that (was watching the game), but didn’t realize the bets would be cancelled. Shows you how often I bet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/48 "2012-09-09T02:28:00Z")
Aw, shoot. It was the right decision, of course, but still a disappointment. I was looking forward to all the postgame hand-wringing and raging debate. Completely with Snarky Kong. Every time I’ve seen a “ridiculous” or “insulting” spread in football, it turned out to be justified in the end. The fact is, unlike, say, hockey, where a huge underdog can at least hope for a lucky breakaway or rebound to prevent a total massacre, if a football team can’t move the ball on offense and can’t stop anyone on defense, it pretty much can’t do anything but get rolled. I doubt anyone on the Savannah State end cared much as long as the check cleared. As an aside, anyone know why bookies can’t keep at least a nominal fee for pushes or off bets? I certainly don’t want to work for nothing. ---
**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, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/49 "2012-09-09T04:09:16Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > …As an aside, anyone know why bookies can’t keep at least a nominal fee for pushes or off bets? I certainly don’t want to work for nothing. It’s just convention. That’s how they’ve always done it in this country. I could never figure out why over/under bets count the overtime scoring. For example, if the over/under on the Knicks-Bulls game is 200, and the game is tied 99-99, I would think that the fair outcome is under. But the convention is to count the overtime points as well, making the outcome ‘over’ if at least 3 points are scored in OT. ---
**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 9, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/50 "2012-09-09T05:52:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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? No, never. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/51 "2012-09-09T18:18:49Z")
I actually did win $75 two decades ago by betting a 3 game parley, one of the games being a ~60-70 point spread between Houston (Andre Ware was the QB at the time) vs some poor team (Rice, I think). I took Houston and they covered. I keep hearing that this SS/FSU game had the largest point spread in history, but I could have sworn those Houston teams (Ware, Klingler) also received ridiculous spreads like that. ---
**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, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/52 "2012-09-09T22:43:59Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > It’s just convention. That’s how they’ve always done it in this country. I could never figure out why over/under bets count the overtime scoring. For example, if the over/under on the Knicks-Bulls game is 200, and the game is tied 99-99, I would think that the fair outcome is under. But the convention is to count the overtime points as well, making the outcome ‘over’ if at least 3 points are scored in OT. What’s the convention for a ballgame? There’s point total over/under for those, too, right? What about an official game that gets rained out in the 6th, for instance? Is that a push? ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/53 "2012-09-09T22:51:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I actually did win $75 two decades ago by betting a 3 game parley, one of the games being a ~60-70 point spread between Houston (Andre Ware was the QB at the time) vs some poor team (Rice, I think). > > I took Houston and they covered. > > I keep hearing that this SS/FSU game had the largest point spread in history, but I could have sworn those Houston teams (Ware, Klingler) also received ridiculous spreads like that. Parlaying bets can boost the spread - are you remembering your bets rather than the actual lines? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/54 "2012-09-09T23:06:11Z")
It was something I did a couple of times, basing the lines off what was published in the newspapers. But it’s likely possible that I didn’t get all the subtleties of what I was doing. I’ve never cared for gambling, so I haven’t bet on football since then. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2012, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/55 "2012-09-09T23:17:45Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Wait, I see now that they’re calling the game as “officially” ended, as opposed to “cancelled.” The story locally is that at some point during the first delay, it was decided that the 2nd half would operate under a “running clock” (i.e., no stoppage except for timeouts). Once the clock started in the third, it kept running during the 2nd weather delay and time ran out before the game could resume. I suspect there was a bit of a “let’s find a way to end this farce before somebody gets hurt” going on with a wink-and-a-nod from the officials and the NCAA. ---
**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, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/56 "2012-09-09T23:23:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What’s the convention for a ballgame? There’s point total over/under for those, too, right? What about an official game that gets rained out in the 6th, for instance? Is that a push? Yes, they become pushes as do the “run line” bets. The money lines stay. Additionally, if either starting pitcher is changed from those listed, over/under and run line bets are erased. ---
**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 10, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/57 "2012-09-10T01:13:32Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > The story locally is that at some point during the first delay, it was decided that the 2nd half would operate under a “running clock” (i.e., no stoppage except for timeouts). Once the clock started in the third, it kept running during the 2nd weather delay and time ran out before the game could resume. Yes, that’s correct. (And I reported it upthread [post 34] shortly after it was announced.) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/58 "2012-09-10T11:06:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, that’s correct. (And I reported it upthread [post 34] shortly after it was announced.) Sorry. Missed that. It is interesting to note that several people around here (incl. the beat writer for the local paper) have stated that they never saw _any_ lightning at the stadium. With that said, there was lightning here (10 or so miles away) and NCAA rules deal with lightning in the area, not just at the stadium itself. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/59 "2012-09-17T03:20:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Don’t know. Odds makers are pretty good at this. There’s usually a huge point spread when a powerhouse faces a tiny school, but it doesn’t look like those are good bets on the spread to me. But I don’t pay that much attention to college ball, I have a pretty small sample of observations to work from. I think you have a misunderstanding about bookmaking. The betting line is ultimately a number so that bookmakers make equal money on both sides of the line. They make their money on the vig. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896/60 "2012-09-17T03:26:06Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > 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.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. As an Okie growing up in the Switzer era I can tell you it wasn’t uncommon to hear Barry Switzter say “we’re going to hang half a hundred on 'em!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-70-5-point-spread/633896.md?page=4)