Since I wrote my last Bad Beats column, I've been getting a steady supply of e-mail from bettors describing their various hard-luck gridiron losses. This week, let's get caught up on a few of the worst bad beats of the young season to date.

Cincinnati Bearcats at Penn State Nittany Lions

Of the three games that I selected, the Cincinnati and Penn State game was the only one which affected me personally. The pointspread bounced around during the days leading up to the game. The underdog Bearcats had attracted some early action but the late money came in on the favorite. I personally had minus 19. I spoke to others who had minus 19 ½ and minus 20 and know that the line closed at 21 or 21 1/2 at most shops.

Regardless of the odds, Penn State backers appeared to be in excellent shape. The Nittany Lions had thoroughly dominated and were up 42-10 with less than a minute remaining. I was only mildly concerned when Cincinnati scored a touchdown with 39 seconds remaining. Although I was still paying more attention to another game, I noticed that the Bearcats attempted and failed on a two-point conversion. That brought the score to 42-16.

What happened next gained my full attention and also made me feel ill. The Penn State scrubs weren't paying attention and allowed Cincinnati to successfully gain possession of an onside-kick. That gave the Bearcats excellent field position with roughly 30 seconds left. Cincinnati immediately connected on a big pass play setting up 1st and goal.

The next play resulted in a touchdown. The Bearcats weren't content with kicking the point after for a 42-23 loss. No, they wanted to make sure that everyone who bet on them was able to earn a cover! Once again the Bearcats attempted the two-point conversion. This time they were successful. Thankfully I've been fortunate to be on the 'winning' side of each of the Nittany Lions' games since! Final Score: 42-24, Penn State.

Denver Broncos at Miami Dolphins

The 'under' was a popular pick when the Broncos traveled to Miami. The 'total' opened at 38 1/2 but had dropped to 37 by kickoff. The majority that wagered on the under likely would have had at least 37 1/2 though, which made the game's waning moments that much more painful. The score was 6-3 in favor of Miami at halftime.

The Dolphins had extended their lead to 13-3 entering the fourth quarter. They continued to dominate and took a 27-10 lead into the game's final play. Under bettors, who had been praying that Denver would stay out of the end zone, momentarily breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Jake Plummer fumble.

That feeling of relief quickly turned to horror, however, as Jason Taylor would scoop up the loose ball and take it 85 yards the other way for another Dolphins' touchdown. All the 'line-shopping' in the world couldn't save ‘under’ bettors after that! Final Score: 34-10, Miami.

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

Dallas had dominated the Redskins for years so it was only natural that the Cowboys would be a popular pick on Monday Night. For almost the entire game it appeared that history was destined to repeat itself with another Dallas win and cover.

The Cowboys took a 10-0 lead into the fourth quarter. It could have been bigger as the Cowboys had missed a field goal and failed to score with time running out at the end of the first half. With less than four minutes remaining they had extended the lead to 13-0. Cowboys' bettors, who mostly had a pointspread of minus 5 1/2 seemed extremely safe considering that Washington hadn't scored a touchdown all season and hadn't gotten as far as the Dallas 28 yard-line since their opening drive.

In addition, history was on the Cowboys' side. Parcells' teams were 77-0 when leading by at least 13 in the fourth quarter and Washington had lost 25 straight games when trailing after three quarters. Streaks are made to be broken though! With the game winding down, Mark Brunell, Santana Moss and the Redskins finally came to life.

Brunell converted two fourth down plays, including one on 4th and 15 to Moss for the 'Skins first touchdown. The Cowboys returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield but, thanks to a holding penalty, failed to record a first down. The Redskins would only need two plays and 17 seconds for Brunell and Moss to hook up once again. Gibbs would call it "one of his greatest moments in sports".

Final Score: 14-13, Washington.

Ben Burns is the #1 football handicapper in the history of the Bigguy Sports Monitor. You can visit Ben online at www.BenBurns.com