Everything about Tuesday night’s college football game between Kansas and UNLV was strange. There is some suspicion about how things played out and it has led to additional questions surrounding the Runnin’ Rebels after a record number of penalties were called against the Jayhawks.
All of the speculation dates back to the regular season.
What is up with UNLV?
UNLV defeated the University of New Mexico by 42 on Nov. 4. An alert was sent out by “independent integrity monitors” prior to kickoff of that game that notified sportsbooks nationwide of some potentially suspicious activity targeting the Lobos.
The Rebels opened as a 10-point favorite. They closed at 16.5.
A six-point jump prior to kickoff is unusual. Multiple accounts were created just to wager on that specific game on the first weekend of November.
However, U.S. Integrity CEO Matthew Holt said on Dec. 14 that its portion of the investigation was closed.
The odds movement and wagering activity was the most abnormal we’ve seen for a game that didn’t involve a major injury. There were no injuries. But other than that, we found no evidence of wrongdoing.
— Matthew Holt
Hmmmmmm……. While that line movement was weird, nothing came of the investigation.
It happened again!
UNLV began Tuesday morning as a 13/13.5-point underdog against Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Arizona. It closed at Jayhawks -8.5.
The line swung as many as five points in favor of the Rebels. Why?
At first, there were rumors about Kansas quarterback Jason Beam’s health. Rumors said that he woke up sick and might miss the game. True or not, he played.
And then there were rumors about running back Devin Neal. He posted a cryptic story on Instagram that led everybody to believe he might have opted out or suffered a late injury.
That was quickly disproved when Neal took the field for warmups. He later set the record straight amid all of the chatter from the locker room.
Not only did Neal play, it was announced that he is going to return to the team next season.
So why did the line move?!
Kansas was penalized a lot.
Beam ultimately threw six touchdowns in a 49-36 win. Neal went for 71 yards and a score on 20 touches.
UNLV failed to cover the 8.5-point spread despite every opportunity. The Rebels narrowly pushed for those who got the line at +13 and covered at +13.5.
Their opponents, the Jayhawks, set a bowl record for the most penalties in a single postseason college football game. They were flagged 18 times for 216 yards.
It seemed — from an outside perspective — as though the officiating crew called a penalty on Kansas as soon as Lance Leipold’s team started to pull away. The penalties kept UNLV in the game from kickoff to final whistle. Some of them were warranted. Some, if not the majority, of them were questionable.
On the flip side, the Rebels were called for nine penalties. Half.
Hmmm……..
The line swung by more than a field goal in the hours leading up to kickoff without a major injury or an opt-out. A record number of penalties were called on the betting favorites.
It was all very strange. Especially after the New Mexico game investigation.
The Jayhawks ultimately covered the closing line. Things got chippy and benches cleared as soon as the clock expired.
Everything about the Guaranteed Rate Bowl was unusual — from what transpired with the line during pregame to the fracas on the final play. Will there be another investigation???