How Beau Pribula's late touchdown for Penn State vs. West Virginia created all-time bad beat

Even before the final whistle blew in Penn State's 38-15 win over West Virginia on Saturday, victory was all but assured for the Nittany Lions: They had the ball and a 31-15 lead, while the Mountaineers had no timeouts and under two minutes left to mount a miracle comeback.

Still, the Nittany Lions kept pushing, eventually finishing their final drive of the night with a 5-yard touchdown run from quarterback Beau Pribula with just six seconds remaining: an emphatic finishing touch on the Week 1 victory.

But what was a heartwarming and euphoric moment for the York native — who had just scored the first touchdown of his college career in front of 110,000 fans in his home state — was something else entirely for anyone who bet on the game.

The touchdown extended Penn State’s lead from 16 to 23 points, putting the Nittany Lions over the 21-point spread set by BetMGM. Not only that, but that final touchdown pushed the combined point total of the Nittany Lions and Mountaineers over BetMGM's over/under of 50.5 points.

REQUIRED READING: How Drew Allar's Penn State football 'debut' led up-and-down victory over West Virginia

Here's a look at Pribula's score:

It was a gutting late development for bettors who went with the under on both the line and the over/under point total. ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, whose popular “Bad Beats” segment highlights moments where the line or over/under is changed in outlandish and sometimes hilarious fashion, weighed in on Twitter with a simple question:

"Are you kidding in State College?”

He wasn’t alone in feeling that way, either.

Still down only two possessions and with overtime still technically (but incredibly unlikely) within reach, West Virginia had used its final timeout with 2:11 remaining and Penn State on the Mountaineers’ 17. The following play, on third-and-7, running back Trey Potts pushed ahead for 5 yards. Faced with a fourth-and-2, Penn State coach James Franklin could have sent the field-goal unit in for a manageable attempt to make it a three-possession game. But he opted to go for it. The Nittany Lions converted, with Pribula finding Malick Meiga for a 7-yard gain.

With a fresh set of downs, Penn State didn’t kneel to bleed out the remaining clock. Instead, it kept its drive going, with Potts rushing for no gain on first down before Pribula's touchdown scamper.

REQUIRED READING: Watch: Squirrel scampers for touchdown at Penn State-West Virginia game in Beaver Stadium

While those at the increasingly large intersection between sports and gambling didn’t view it quite the same way, Franklin’s decision to keep his offense moving was understandable.

Coaches continually stress the importance of playing until the game is over. For a team that’s projected to be in contention for a College Football Playoff berth, the larger margin of victory — and whatever style points may come from that — could end up mattering, particularly against a Power Five opponent. There was no guarantee Penn State would make a 30-yard field goal on a night in which it had already missed two attempts of fewer than 40 yards. Additionally, it gave backups like Pribula, a former Central York standout, the chance to get game experience in a relatively low-pressure situation.

If this chatter is indicative of anything, though, it’s that after a long and grueling wait, college football is back.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Penn State bad beat: Beau Pribula TD vs. West Virginia an all-timer