South Alabama Blowout Leads to Voided Bets, Unique Settlements

South Alabama pulverized Northwestern State 87-10 on Thursday night in NCAA Division I football, with the Jaguars setting a school scoring record, and this blowout led to voided bets and unique settlements, according to ESPN’s Doug Greenberg.

Referees and coaches agreed to shorten the South Alabama-Northwestern State game by six minutes, resulting in voided bets

The drubbing was so bad that the coaches of both teams agreed to shorten the fourth quarter by six minutes, resulting in only 54 minutes of play. This ended up affecting bets. Per Greenberg, college football sportsbook house rules require 55 minutes of play for most action to be considered valid.

However, there is reportedly leeway for interpretation. DraftKings’ football house rules state, “There must be 5 minutes or less of scheduled game time left for bets to have action unless the specific market outcome is already unconditionally determined.”

The last part is important for bettors, as over and under bets on the total (in this case set at 59.5, per ESPN BET odds) can be deemed “unconditional.” This means gamblers would have hit regardless of anything that could have happened in the final minutes of the game.

As a result, DraftKings graded overs and unders as winners and losers, respectively. BetMGM confirmed to Greenberg that it settled total bets in the same manner.

Meanwhile, FanDuel’s house rules are a bit different from what’s shown at DraftKings: “At least ten minutes of official time must elapse in the fourth quarter for bets to have action.”

NCAA’s football rulebook allows head coaches and referees to shorten any remaining period by mutual agreement

For the point spread (set at South Alabama -36.5), DraftKings graded all bets as void in accordance with its rules. Though, the sportsbook said it is awarding cash payouts Friday for any wagers on USA’s full-game and second-half spreads as if they were winners. First-half and third-quarter wagers stand as is.

BetMGM voided all full-game wagers on Northwestern State, in accordance with house rules, but graded South Alabama bets as winners. The final score was called an “official result” as “declared by the official governing body,” per the book’s house rules.

The NCAA’s official football rulebook says, “Any time during the game, the playing time of any remaining period or periods may be shortened by mutual agreement of the opposing head coaches and the referee.”

Coaches and officials are allowed to cut time off games in blowout scenarios in the fourth quarter. The downside for gamblers is that there is no set standard for how much a game can be shortened by. This isn’t the first time this season that a college football game was shortened due to a lopsided score.

On Aug. 29, Arkansas defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-0, with the teams deciding to play 10-minute quarters in the second half. This led to just 50 minutes of game time. BetMGM and DraftKings applied the same rulings as they did for Thursday’s game.

Then on Sept. 7, Georgia crushed Tennessee Tech 48-3. The coaches and officials decided to shorten the fourth quarter by five minutes, making for exactly 55 minutes of play. This validated all action for that game.