2025 CFB Bad Beats: Lane Kiffin’s Late Timeout Dooms Ole Miss Backers

Barely two weeks into the college football season, and whatta ya know — we’ve already got another bad beat.

On Saturday, it was Ole Miss spread bettors who took a gut punch thanks to a last-second field goal from Kentucky that meant nothing in the game but everything for bettors.

Let’s check out how it all went down.

Kentucky covers with late FG

Ole Miss looked well on its way to not only winning, but covering the spread. The Rebels kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:10 left, stretching their lead to 10 points, and bettors riding Ole Miss -8.5 were feeling confident the cover was locked.

Then came the twist. 

With 13 seconds left, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin called timeout, after Kentucky had already burned all of its timeouts. That gave the Wildcats a chance to set up Jacob Kauwe for a 39-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining, making the score 30-23.

The kick was meaningless for the outcome — Ole Miss still won comfortably — but it swung the betting outcome in a huge way.

Kiffin even acknowledged the fallout on live TV:

“Sorry to a lot of gamblers there at the end,” Kiffin said.

For Ole Miss spread bettors, it was brutal. What looked like an easy cover slipped away for no good reason.

For Kentucky spread backers, though, they suddenly became winners, all thanks to … Kiffin’s clock management.

It’s the classic reminder that in wagering, no lead — or cover — is safe until the clock hits 0.0. 

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