All-Time Bad Beat Unfolds As Syracuse Football Stomps FCS Team So Badly That Bets Didn't Count

Syracuse bettors were absolutely fuming on Saturday. An all-time bad beat played out in upstate New York and it only happened because the Orange were winning by too much.

FCS school Wagner traveled to Syracuse over the weekend for a "buy game." The Seahawks entered winless and were 50-point underdogs when the betting line opened and 53-point underdogs when the betting line closed.

The Orange covered both spreads. They won 59-0, so they even had at least a touchdown to play with for both closing and opening lines.

Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen runs through the Wagner defense, contributing to all-time bad beat.(Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

But any bets placed on Syracuse football to beat Wagner did not count on the major sportsbooks.

Winners were not paid out. Losers did not have their money taken out of their account.

Why? Well, Syracuse was too dominant. The game, which went to halftime at 49-0, was cut short because of Wagner's inability to keep up.

At the half, both head coaches agreed that the second half would be sped up. They decided that both the third and fourth quarters would be just 10 minutes instead of 15.

No point in delaying the inevitable, right?!

WRONG! At least, for betters.

Because the game was not played to completion, the game did not count in the eyes of the sportsbooks. All bets were voided at halftime when Syracuse and Wagner agreed to cut the quarters by five minutes each.

The game was continued, but it was 10 minutes shorter. The Orange went on to shutout the Seahawks, added 10 points in the second half and won by 59.

That number would have covered any of the opening, middle, or closing spreads. Syracuse bettors would have been paid out if the game was just 10 minutes longer and the score remained the same.

Wagner could have even kicked a sympathy, sad field goal and still would not have covered. Didn't matter either way. The bets did not count.