Mississippi State miraculously covered the spread against Illinois on a Raiders-esque lateral return to end the game

On a day the Mississippi State Bulldogs paid tribute to their late head coach Mike Leach with a special pirate helmet logo and bowl-opening delay of game, their bettors got a bit of supernatural help to cover a 3.5-point spread.

The favored Bulldogs trailed Illinois for almost the entirety of the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, finally taking a lead on a go-ahead field goal with four seconds left to seemingly clinch a three-point victory.

However, while they were on track to win, the field meant a cover was done. And that was bad news for the 64% of bettors who picked Mississippi State, according to Action Network. All that was left was for Illinois was to receive a kickoff and let the time expire after one play, at most.

That one play turned into a miracle cover for the Bulldogs.

IT'S A MIRACLE COVER FOR MISSISSIPPI STATE (-3.5) pic.twitter.com/mKAIMuGeDJ

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 2, 2023

Mississippi State did not lead at all for the first 59:56 of the game, and they won by 9 points in regulation. Mike Leach wouldn't have it any other way.

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 2, 2023

Remember the New England Patriots’ embarrassing lateral failure against the Las Vegas Raiders a few weeks ago? Yeah, Illinois did the same thing.

After a few backward throws, the Bulldogs’ Marcus Banks scooped up the loose ball and ran it back 60 yards for the touchdown and a nine-point win.

Check on your friends who bet Illinois.