Bad Beat: Northwestern QB's ill-advised throw paved the way for Penn State's incredible cover

If you were a bettor who placed some cash on the Northwestern versus Penn State game on Saturday, you were experiencing one of two moods as the Wildcats snapped the ball on 1st-and-10 with 2:37 to play:

• If your bet slip had Northwestern covering +26.5, you were feeling pretty good. The Wildcats trailed by 21 and were driving the field. The cover seemed likely.
• If your bet slip had Penn State covering -26.5, you were probably freaking out a little bit. What were the Nittany Lions doing? They’re supposed to be College Football Playoff contenders. Why aren’t they crushing Northwestern by more?
• If for some reason you had $90,000 on Northwestern +27.5, you were far too comfortable.

And then, those feelings swapped places. Because Northwestern’s quarterback made a costly mistake.

Brendan Sullivan scrambled to his left as two Penn State defenders chased him out of the pocket, and then he tossed an underthrown pass that was easily picked off by Penn State’s Daequan Hardy, who returned it 34 yards. The Nittany Lions then ran one play, as backup Beau Pribula faked a kneel-down to toss a 30-yard touchdown to Trey Potts.

Allar to Potts for another Nittany Lions TOUCHDOWN! @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/FKGQMAoEQP

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 30, 2023

And just like that, Penn State secured a cover, going up by 28 points after the PAT. It’s one of a few bad beats we’ve seen this season, and the second time Penn State bettors were impacted by a play late in the game.

Here’s the play that cost Northwestern bettors:

WHAT WAS THE NORTHWESTERN QB DOING HERE?!

Penn State then went on to score and secure the cover…

If you had Northwestern +26.5, call 959-BAD-BEAT and let your frustrations out pic.twitter.com/SqiaYa4Sqp

— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) September 30, 2023

Penn State could have just sat on the ball and drained off some clock after the interception, but Nittany Lions coach James Franklin has been putting Pribula in these garbage-time situations this season to give him some experience. He’s played in all five of Penn State’s games so far this season, so seeing him throw with the game already in-hand wasn’t surprising.

Northwestern did have a chance to respond and get a backdoor cover with 2:20 to play after Penn State’s quick score, but the Wildcats’ drive fizzled out after gaining just 22 yards in six plays.