Each September, when the NFL and college football schedules collide for the first time, rest assured there’s a bonanza of betting. This past weekend was just further proof. The biggest example: A seven-figure play on Texas that looked dead in the water — until it wasn’t.
More on that major wager, a long-shot first touchdown scorer and a 12-leg college football parlay that went the distance, as we recap the weekend that was in football betting. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated.
Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. A couple hours before kickoff in Saturday’s massive Ohio State-Texas showdown, Caesars Sports took the biggest bet of the weekend. A customer in Vegas plunked down an eye-popping $1.2 million on Texas moneyline -127.
Meaning the Longhorns, as 1.5-point home favorites, just had to win, regardless of margin. But entering the fourth quarter, Texas was in a 23-3 hole on its home field. It appeared that the bettor had lit a pile of money on fire.
Then Arch Manning & Co. commenced the comeback. The Longhorns scored the final 21 points, with a literal Hollywood ending, as Hollywood Smothers ran it in from the 1-yard line with 25 seconds left as Texas won 24-23. That quenched the sweat of a lifetime for the bettor, who profited $944,881.89, for a total payout of $2,144,881.89.
Also at Caesars, at some point when the Longhorns were still in a deep hole, a customer put $10,000 on Texas in-game moneyline +700. So the huge comeback netted that bettor $70,000 profit (total payout $80,000). In Wednesday’s NFL season kickoff between the Patriots and Seahawks, there was no shortage of popular players to score the game’s first touchdown.
A.J. Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jadarian Price were prime candidates. But an unprime candidate?
Patriots backup tight end Eli Raridon. Nearly six minutes into the second quarter, the +6500 long shot delivered, catching a 2-yard pass from Drake Maye to put New England up 7-0. One person on X was so stunned that he offered up his services to anyone who could prove they bet on Raridon.
Among the responses, a bettor who turned a modest $50 into a nifty $3,250 profit. A Caesars Sports customer doubled that, with a $100 bet on Raridon +6500 to profit $6,500. Not a bad night’s work, to be sure.
On Saturday, a Hard Rock Bet customer strung together a $200, 12-leg college football parlay, mixing in point spreads, moneylines and totals. As it turned out, Ohio State-Texas was instrumental. Twice.
The bettor had Ohio State +1.5 and Under 49.5. As noted above, the Buckeyes lost by just one, 24-23, covering the spread by a half-point. And the total tucked in below 49.5, clinching the Under.
Alabama moneyline -450 was another piece of the sweat. The Crimson Tide actually trailed Kentucky 17-13 at halftime. Then Bama scored the game’s final 32 points in a 45-17 road rout.
So the bettor’s $200 turned into a hefty $69,099. Sportsbooks often offer a cashout option on your bet. It can allow you to lock in profit if you’re nervous about getting to game’s end.
Just keep in mind that the terms are rarely as favorable as they should be. Still, it can be a useful option, as a Caesars customer proved during Sunday’s NFL slate. In the eight-game early window, the bettor put $274 on a 12-leg parlay of Anytime Touchdown Scorers.
After getting the first 11 in, all that was missing was a TD from Bills running back James Cook, vs. the Texans. Caesars offered a cashout of $22,946, which the bettor accepted. Cook ultimately didn’t find paydirt, making a genius of the customer.
Popular running backs had a huge Sunday in NFL Anytime Touchdown markets. A Fanatics Sportsbook customer made it pay on a $500 six-leg parlay consisting solely of running backs. The odds of all six players scoring were +4970, or just about 50/1.
However, the bettor utilized a 100% profit boost promotion, hiking the odds to +9993, or nearly 100/1. All six players found the end zone, so the bettor’s $500 turned into $50,165. To be forthcoming, plenty of bettors lost money this weekend.
Remember, it’s called gambling, not winning. Prediction market traders were heavily involved in NFL Week 1 and college football Week 2, as well. And there were some rough results.
At Polymarket, a trader put $244,039.81 on the Cowboys to beat the Giants. Dallas tumbled 28-20, so that’s a healthy six figures in the minus column. Another Polymarket trader put $132,000 on the Packers to beat the Vikings.
Green Bay led 22-10 well into the third quarter, but Minnesota scored every point the rest of the way in a 39-22 victory. Polymarket also took a $132,784 trade on the Eagles to cover as 4.5-point favorites vs. the Commanders. Philly led 24-16 late in the fourth quarter, but gave up a TD with 1:01 remaining while holding on for a 24-22 victory.
Ouch. At Kalshi, a trader put $174,758 on the Patriots to beat the Seahawks. Seattle lost QB Sam Darnold on the first possession, and New England had a 10-0 lead well into the third quarter, but ultimately lost 13-10.
It’s not all about making big bets or cashing out huge on a 10-leg parlay. Which, again to be clear, is rare. Sometimes, it’s about putting 10 bucks on a single straight bet, backing a long shot or semi-long shot, and getting a solid return on investment.
Like this one, right up there with the aforementioned Raridon bets: Bears QB Caleb Williams to score two or more touchdowns vs. the Panthers. At FanDuel Sportsbook, Williams was a hefty +6500 to do so. But during Chicago’s 59-37 beatdown of Carolina, he had a 9-yard run for the Bears’ first score, then raced 29 yards for another TD just before halftime.
If you’d put 10 bucks on that, then you’d be sitting on $650 profit today. If you got frisky and put a C-note on it, then you’d be up $6,500. Fanatics had Jets tight end Kenyon Sadiq +2800 to score the first TD vs. the Titans.
Sadiq actually ran it in from 3 yards out early in the first quarter of New York’s 23-10 victory. A tenner on that would’ve netted $280 profit. One customer went much deeper than that, putting $1,500 on Sadiq.
So that bet banked $42,000 profit (total payout $43,500). I Like Big Bets and I Cannot Lie You’re not going to beat that $1.2 milly play on Texas moneyline, for sheer entertainment value or payout. But there were several more major wagers in NFL Week 1 odds/college football Week 2 odds.
At DraftKings Sports, a customer put $191,675 on Rams -3.5 vs. the 49ers. Los Angeles took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, but never scored again in a 27-7 upset loss. Other noteworthy bets: And in the "There’s No Guarantees In Life" category: A Caesars customer put $100,000 on Oregon moneyline -2500 vs.
Oklahoma State on Saturday. Based on those odds, this game was thought to be over before it began. But the Ducks laid a huge egg in Stillwater, losing 39-31.
Let that outcome serve as a reminder that high-rollers can handle big-dollar damage. You and me? Not so much.
Keep your wagers and your expectations reasonable.
