Minnesota vs Iowa Odds & Prediction
Minnesota is off to a solid 4-0 start and while they have a decent offense and a solid defense they have not played any legitimate teams so far on the season.
Venue/ Stadium: Kinnick Stadium, IOWA CITY, IA
Time/Date: 12 PM EST Saturday, September 29, 2012
NCAAF Odds From: BetOnline
Moneyline: OFF
Spread: Iowa -7
Over/Under: 46.5
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Preview
Iowa (2-2) was upset in their last game losing to Central Michigan and both of their losses have come at home. NCAAF lines have Iowa as a 7-point home favorite with a total of 46.5.
In their last games Minnesota beat Syracuse 17-10 and Iowa lost to Central Michigan 32-31.
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On the season Minnesota is 3-1 ATS with an Over/Under record of 1-2 and Iowa is 1-3 ATS with an Over/Under record of 1-2.
Minnesota and their 69th ranked passing offense will be led by QB Max Shortell, who has passed for 491 yards with 4 TD and 1 INT. Starting QB MarQueis Gray is out for this game with an ankle injury. Shortell had a solid game against Syracuse with 230 yards in the air and while he was not picked off he did throw a TD. Both of his top targets are averaging over 19 yards per catch and will be facing a Iowa pass defense that ranks 39th in the nation.
Iowa had been playing good pass defense, but they gave up 283 yards in the air to Central Michigan.
The key on defense for the Hawkeyes has to be stopping the MINN rushing attack led by Donnell Kirkwood, but the 2nd leading rusher is MarQueis Gray and his rushing attack will be missed. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Iowa does not have a dynamic offense, but at least they are pretty well balanced ranking 93rd in the nation in passing yards per game and 72nd in rushing yards per game. Senior QB James Vandenberg had a decent game against Central Michigan and RB Mark Weisman had a HUGE game rushing for 215 yards averaging 8 yards per carry, but they lost because of their defense.
Minnesota has a solid defense ranking 24th in the nation in pass defense and 43rd in run defense.
Last season Iowa beat Minnesota 22-21.
In some betting trends for this Big 10 match up Minnesota is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall, 5-0 ATS in their last 5 conference games, and they have an Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 road games.
Iowa is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games overall, 0-4 ATS vs. a team with a winning record, and they have an Over record of 6-2 in their last 8 home games.
Jason’s Pick: The stats and records would point to Minnesota in this game, but since the Big 10 season has begun I have to go with Iowa. The Hawkeyes will play well on defense and they will win this game and cover the spread.
