The Clemson Tigers used a touchdown pass on their first possession of overtime to upset the Miami Hurricanes 40-37 on Saturday night to cap a back and forth game. Miami kicked a field goal on their first possession of overtime to take the lead, but Clemson responded with a seldom used play on third and 11 to get the victory as quarterback Kyle Parker completed a 27 yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Ford. Clemson improved to 4-3 with the win while Miami slipped to 5-2.

College football betting devotees who backed Clemson as +4 road underdogs eventually cashed their tickets, but they definitely earned their money in a game that saw twelve lead changes and two ties. Clemson improved to 5-2 against the spread with the cover, while Miami dropped to 4-3 against the money. The 77 combined points sailed OVER the posted total of 43. It was only Miami’s second OVER of the season against four UNDER verdicts while Clemson has gone OVER in three of their seven games.

After the game, Jacoby Ford explained his logic for suggesting the surprise play in the huddle:

“We knew this game was going to come down to who made more plays. And we did.”

Miami has a history of winning when their offense is clicking-this loss was only the second in 115 games when the Hurricanes score 37 or more points dating back to’85.

For his part, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is glad this one is over:

“I have a birthday next month and I think I’m going to turn 50 instead of 40. We had to put on Superman capes. We made plenty of mistakes that could have lost us the game, but they played with poise and confidence. We just kept battling.”

CJ Spiller was also a big factor for the Tigers as he set a school record with 310 all purpose yards including a 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also added 81 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving with a 56 yard touchdown catch.

Clemson QB Parker suggested that last week’s win over Wake Forrest was a turning point for his team:

“I think last week we realized that we could be really good and this week we acted on it. I thought we really got some explosive plays and we played well.”

Miami’s quarterback Jason Harris sounded a different tone in his postgame comments:

“This has to be my toughest loss here. We fought so hard throughout the game as a team and didn’t come out with the victory. We let Clemson outwork us, we turned the ball over too much — little things that made us get to this point.”

Clemson will host FCS foe Coastal Carolina next Saturday before resuming ACC play the following week at home against Florida State. Miami plays two of their next three on the road, starting next weekend at Wake Forest. They’ll face the University of Virginia at home the next week before traveling to Chapel Hill for a game against North Carolina on November–.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer specializing in boxing, college football and NFL betting. He serves as a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook in Costa Rica and is a noted authority on Internet sports betting of all forms. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and several pet geckos.

Despite a subpar game from quarterback Tim Tebow and a determined effort from the host Mississippi State Bulldogs, the Florida Gators remained undefeated by scrapping out a 29-19 victory. Florida led by only 3 points at halftime before pulling away in the fourth quarter. The usually efficient and accurate Tebow had two touchdowns returned for interceptions and passed for only 127 yards with no touchdowns. The usually accommodating Tebow left the stadium without speaking to reporters, clearly upset with his performance.

College football betting enthusiasts who took the +22′ with Mississippi State as a home underdog enjoyed an easy pointspread cover. The Bulldogs improved their ATS record to 4-3 with the cover, while Florida evened their college football pointspread record to 3-3. The 48 combined points scored just managed to stay UNDER the posted total of 50.

Head coach Urban Meyer accepted much of the blame for his team’s substandard performance:

“I did not coach well tonight. I put Tim in some tough situations. As an offense, we’re not well right now. Tim’s not trying to be a hero. But we might be asking him to do too much.”

The Gators’ are 76th in the nation in red zone efficiency, and Meyer took the blame for that fact as well:

“The problem is they’ve got a coach that wants to score so damn bad that he’s pressing them and some of those guys aren’t ready for that.”

Defensive end Pernell McPhee gave Tebow fits all night and talked about his team’s effort after the game:

“We knew they liked to get the ball to Tebow there. I felt like we frustrated them and made them do some new things they did not usually do tonight. They got in the I formation tonight and that is the first time I have ever seen them do that.”

Florida led by only 3 points heading into the final quarter but used a Chris Raney 8 yard rush and a Dustin Doe interception return for a touchdown to open up some breathing room. Jonathan Banks cut into the lead for Mississippi State late in the game with an interception return for touchdown of his own.

The Gators face a tough challenge next weekend as they enter into their matchup against University of Georgia-what used to be known as ‘The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party’. Florida is a -16 favorite in the contest. They’ll face Vanderbilt the next week before heading to Columbia, SC for a game against the University of South Carolina and their longtime coach Steve Spurrier. Mississippi State will play at Kentucky as+3′ road underdogs next weekend before a bye week. They’ll return to action on November–th at home against the University of Alabama.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in casino gambling, entertainment and sports betting. He has appeared on a number of TV and radio programs offering strategies for successful NFL football betting. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a pet llama. He is currently writing a biography of former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon.

The University of North Carolina used a 21 yard field goal on the final play of the game to pull a big college football upset over #13 Virginia Tech on Thursday night, winning by a final score of 20-17. The Tar Heels’ #8 ranked defense proved as tenacious as their high national status would suggest, and gave the Hokies fits throughout. North Carolina led for most of the game, but withstood a late game Virginia Tech comeback bid to take the win. Both teams are now 5-3 on the college football season.

College football betting enthusiasts who took North Carolina as +16′ road underdogs were never in serious doubt about the eventual payday they’d receive as the Tar Heels never trailed by more than three points. The Tar Heels improved to 3-4 against the college football pointspread, while the Hokies dropped to 3-5 versus the money. The 37 combined points scored went UNDER the posted total of 43′. North Carolina has gone UNDER in four of six games this season, while Virginia Tech evened their college football totals record at 4-4.

Tar Heels’ QB T.J. Yates was in a state of disbelief after the narrow road victory:

“I’ve never really had this feeling before. Kicking it at the last second? It just sends chills down your spine.”

Running back Shaun Draughn spoke of the team’s priority to bounce back quickly after they blew a big lead in a loss to Florida State last week:

“We knew we had to get back to the drawing board. To come back and play the way we did definitely speaks volumes about our team.”

In the Hokies’ locker room, linebacker Cody Grimm spoke of his team’s need to regain their focus:

“I think the motivation is to come out here so you don’t feel like this again. Ten wins is one thing, but I don’t want to feel like this any more and the only way to do that is to win.”

Running back Ryan Williams felt doubly bad about the loss, as his late game fumble cemented the victory for North Carolina:

“As of right now, there probably isn’t really anything they can say to lift me up because regardless of what anybody says, personally I feel like I kind of took the game away from us today. It was on the line, it was in my hands and I fumbled.”

The Hokies will play against next Thursday night, heading to Greenville, NC to face the Skip Holtz coached East Carolina Pirates. They’ll play at Maryland on Saturday, November 15 before returning home a week later to host North Carolina State. North Carolina plays their next two at home, starting a week from Saturday against Duke. Miami will come in the following week before the Tar Heels hit the road to play at Boston College on November 21.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted sports betting expert. He is also a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook and is in charge of setting NFL lines. He has written extensively on sports betting theory along with a wide range of other topics including fencing, boxing and dog training.

The Florida Gators rampage through the SEC reached its culmination with a 31-20 victory over #1 ranked Alabama in the conference championship game. The Gators scored– 4th quarter points to secure victory in a contest that was an epic struggle for three quarters with five lead changes and two ties. This victory set the stage for the Gators’ appearance in the National Championship Game.

The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly answered, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida came right back in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips’ yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained control in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them away for good in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.

Junior quarterback Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer praised Tebow effusively in his post game comments:

“I’ve had some great players, and I’ve got some great players on this team. But I’ve never had one like this. Tim’s got something special inside him. I’m not talking about throwing. I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.

Alabama coach Nick Saban concurred:

“He’s a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he’s going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them.”

The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden the world has underestimated their toughness:

“Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We’re just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time.”

Even in defeat, it was impossible to overlook the remarkable resurgance of Alabama football. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a’-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.