CFB Odds: Arkansas Bettors Dealt Brutal Beat Despite Liberty Bowl Win
They tried to say there are too many bowl games
College Football's bowl season provided us with yet another brutal beat, this time in the form of an insane comeback attempt by the Kansas Jayhawks in the Liberty Bowl.
Kansas, after trailing by 25 points midway through the third quarter, stormed back to force overtime against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2022 Liberty Bowl. Unfortunately, it would be all for not. Bad news for both Jayhawks fans AND Razorbacks bettors.
Here's what happened.
Arkansas scored its fifth touchdown of the game with just under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, as running back Rashod Dubinion plowed into the end zone to give the Razorbacks a 38-13 lead. They would not score again in regulation. Kansas would score a touchdown and kick a field goal on two ensuing drives to cut the lead to 15 early in the fourth quarter, but punted and turned the ball over on downs in the two possessions after that to essentially give away their chance at making a comeback. Or so we thought.
With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, the Jayhawks got the ball back and stormed down the field in one minute and 38 seconds, capping things off with a Jalon Daniels touchdown pass to Douglas Emilien. After cutting the lead to eight, Kansas kicked and recovered an onside attempt to give itself back-to-back possessions in the final two minutes.
Four plays later, they'd find themselves in the end zone again. Needing a two-point conversion, Daniels delivered another strike to tie it and send things to overtime.
Kansas and Arkansas would trade touchdowns in the first overtime, touchdowns and two-point conversions in the second overtime and attempts at two-point conversions in the third.
Triple OT, which is essentially college football's answer to the World Cup's penalty kicks, resulted in a converted attempt for Arkansas and a missed attempt by Kansas -- which helped the Jayhawks cover and the Razorbacks win.
Arkansas entered the game as 2.5-point favorites over Kansas, per DraftKings Sportsbook. That means despite winning the game outright, those who bet on the Razorbacks were dealt with a loss though their team led by four scores in the second half. DraftKings accepted 59% of the bets on Kansas, but only 41% of the handle. That means they, as they always do, made money on the gutting backdoor cover.
