College Football: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Michigan Wolverines Sports Betting Guide
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The Iowa Hawkeyes will look to stay undefeated as they head to Ann Arbor Saturday to take on cross-conference foe Michigan. The last time these two met was 2016 in Iowa when a then number two ranked Michigan lost on a last-second field goal (13-14) as 21-point favorites. As conference play picks up, this early-season showdown could have postseason implications, and another loss for Michigan will see calls for the end of the Harbaugh era to grow even louder. Let’s take a deeper look at this Big Ten matchup to see where we can find an edge.
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Iowa State Hawkeyes @ Michigan Wolverines Sports
Saturday, October 5th, 2019 – 12:00 pm EST
Michigan -3.5, O/U 47 (via PointsBet)
After starting off the season with two troubling performances against Middle Tennesee and Army at home, the Wolverines got boat raced on the road in Wisconsin on national television in Week 3. Their new-look offense under first-time offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has seemingly somehow regressed. Through four games, Michigan ranks 81st in the FBS in offensive yards per game (392) and 85th in yards per play (5.54).
In what was supposed to be a coming-out party for Wolverine’s senior quarterback Shea Patterson, the numbers have looked much the same through the first third of the season. In his two toughest tests thus far against Army and on the road in Wisconsin, Patterson has a completion percentage of just 54.65% and a touchdown to interception ratio of 2:1.
While 4-0 Iowa has opened up the season at 2-2 ATS, the number is slightly deceiving as the games they failed to cover, against Iowa State and Miami (Ohio), were by a combined 1.5 points. Senior quarterback Nate Stanley has been great through his first four starts, throwing for eight touchdowns and zero interceptions with a completion percentage of 64.4%.
The defense, however, has been the story for this Hawkeyes team in 2019. Though they haven’t faced the stiffest competition, they rank fifth in the nation in yards per game (251) and 10th in rushing yards allowed (308). If Stanley can continue to take care of the football and this defense can stay healthy, this Iowa team faces a friendly Big Ten schedule down the stretch that should have them in championship discussions come November.
Bottom Line?
Since opening up as high as 13-point favorites over the summer, we’ve seen this line plummet while the Wolverines have faced another sluggish start to the season covering just one game thus far. Both of these teams have played largely cupcake schedules, with one tough test sprinkled in for each that went decidedly different.
In this matchup, I look to their two common home opponents to predict how this one unfolds. For Michigan, they outgained Rutgers and Middle Tennesee by 229 and 252 yards, respectively. Iowa, on the other hand, outgained those same opponents by a combined 741 yards and looked in control from the kickoff of both. In a game that could very well spark the beginning of the end for the once-coveted Harbaugh, I like Iowa to keep this game close enough to cover.
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TJ Perun is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from TJ, check out his archive and follow him @JohnnyCovers.