Peach Bowl bad beat: Michigan State pick-six delivers brutal beat for Pitt bettors

Depending on which side of the coin you were on, you either experienced a thrilling betting victory or a horrifically bad beat in Thursday night’s Peach Bowl between Michigan State and Pittsburgh.

With Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett — a Heisman finalist and potential first-round draft pick — deciding not to play, Michigan State closed 3.5-point favorites at BetMGM. By the time halftime rolled around, though, the Panthers had a 14-10 lead. That lead grew to 21-10 early in the third quarter via a defensive touchdown.

Michigan State, meanwhile, was struggling mightily on offense, but those fortunes flipped in the fourth quarter. MSU cut Pitt’s lead to 21-16 at the 8:06 mark and then went ahead 24-21 with 2:51 to play.

Pitt, with third-stringer Davis Beville at quarterback in place of injured Nick Patti (who started in Pickett’s place), still had a chance to force overtime with a field goal or even win the game. And if you had the Panthers at +3.5, you were sitting in a favorite position.

Until you weren’t.

Beville completed five consecutive passes to advance the Pitt offense to the Michigan State 26. That’s when disaster struck. Beville dropped back to pass with 36 seconds to play, but did not see Michigan State linebacker Cal Haladay drop into coverage.

Beville threw it right to Haladay, who returned it 76 yards for a Michigan State touchdown. It sealed a 31-21 MSU victory and gave MSU backers a miracle cover.

If you were on Pitt, you were delivered a brutal dose of heartache.

This guy is the perfect example.

Ouch.