Everything that occurred in a Nov. 4 college football game between UNLV and New Mexico is suddenly under a microscope a month later, and some funky bets are at the root of it.
Gaming officials in multiple states are investigating the game because of suspicious and/or abnormal betting activity, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported Wednesday.
According to McMurphy, UNLV opened as 10.5-point road favorites, but the spread grew to 16.5 points by kickoff. The Rebels cruised to a cover in a 56-14 win. There was nothing particularly suspicious about the game or its result — UNLV was good this season, and New Mexico was not — but those bets are making people double-back.
Here’s everything we know about the situation:
What was suspicious about the betting activity?
There still isn’t much information available about what the suspicious activity was, but according to Action Network, one thing of concern for sportsbook operators was the number of new accounts created for the sole purpose of betting on UNLV vs. New Mexico.
The movement of the spread suggests the majority of those accounts were created to bet on UNLV, which an industry source seemed to confirm to McMurphy, saying “an average casino sportsbook may take $10,000 to $20,000 on an obscure game. This kind of money — and all on one team — raises multiple red flags.”
Who flagged the suspicious activity?
A large U.S. sportsbook first identified the abnormal betting activity, according to Action Network. That triggered an alert by a licensed independent integrity monitor to other operators and officials.
New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nuñez said he was notified by U.S. Integrity a week after the game.
BetFTW wrote about how U.S. Integrity and other monitors alert suspicious activity here, if you want to read more about the process.
Where did the suspicious betting take place?
According to the report, multiple states are investigating the game, so it doesn’t sound like an incident isolated to one location.
Action Network did get a comment from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which said it didn’t find evidence to indicate a pattern of suspicious activity on the game in that state. The Nevada Gaming Control Board declined to confirm or deny any ongoing investigations on the game in its state.
Was anyone with New Mexico involved?
That’s likely part of what’s being investigated, but so far nothing has been reported to connect the Lobos to anything nefarious.
Nuñez, the New Mexico AD, said he spoke to his football staff immediately after being alerted to the suspicious activity and they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.
“I know we got our ass beat, but we also got our butts beat in other games,” Nuñez told Action Network. “I want people to understand — whatever happened, we are not associated with it. We looked around and looked into it, and there was nothing different (than any other game), except getting our ass kicked.”
He’s right about getting their butts beat a lot. New Mexico finished the season 4-8, with six double-digits losses and more than 50 points allowed three different times — though the 42-point loss to UNLV matched its largest loss of the season.
Did anything suspicious happen in the game?
Well, not to the naked eye. I don’t think.
I didn’t watch the game live and I don’t plan on watching it now. But it doesn’t sound like anything popped up at the time, which is why it’s going to take some real snooping to discover something.
For what it’s worth, UNLV head coach Barry Odom said he didn’t remember anything suspicious happening in the game.
And again, it’s not like the final result was all that unpredictable. Like I said, New Mexico wasn’t good all season. And UNLV, at 9-4, was good enough to play in the Mountain West conference title game and make the Dec. 26 Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Kansas. The Rebels also had one of the best records against the spread in the nation.
Best college football teams against the spread this season ✅
Lafayette 11-1 ATS
New Mexico St 11-3 ATS
Arizona 10-2 ATS
UNLV 10-3 ATS
Oregon 9-2-1 ATS
Miami OH 9-3 ATS
San Jose St 9-3 ATS
Liberty 9-4 ATS
UVA 8-3 ATS
Penn State 8-3 ATS
LSU 8-3 ATS
K-State 8-4 ATS
Alabama 8-4 ATS— John Ewing (@johnewing) December 4, 2023
New Mexico lost two of four fumbles in the game, and gave up touchdowns on the first five UNLV drives. But those are things bad teams do, so who knows?
But wait, didn't New Mexico fire its coach after the season?
Yes, it did. But according to the AD, the firing was unrelated to the investigation. The school parted with Danny Gonzales because of his 11-32 record in four seasons.
“Danny’s firing had absolutely nothing to do with (the investigation),” Nuñez told Action Network. “If it did, I would have fired him for cause.”
So, what could it have been?
I’m guessing we’ll learn a little more about the activity once the investigations near a conclusion. The suspicious activity could have been related to someone connected with either school who had inside information or a good feel for how the game would turn out, but it’s also possible it came from someone or a group of people unrelated to the programs at all. Or maybe it was all just a giant coincidence?
I seriously doubt the last part. But for now, we don’t know much more beyond what’s noted above.
