Iowa vs. Rutgers Pick
Coming off an embarrassing upset loss at home, what can we expect from Iowa on Saturday when it hits the road to face Rutgers at Noon ET on ESPN2?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Iowa is the clear favorite on the road, as the Hawkeyes are getting odds of -12.5 points against Rutgers. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 55.5 points. These two have no previous meetings to consider.
Iowa had been rolling to start the year, picking up sizable wins over Miami (Ohio) and Iowa State. Then, last week happened. The Hawkeyes lost at home to North Dakota State last Saturday, 23-21. Iowa really struggled to move the ball against the physical NDSU defense, posting just 231 yards of offense in the loss. As a team, Iowa had only 34 rushing yards on 25 attempts. C.J. Beathard did throw three touchdown passes, but was just 11 of 22 passing for 152 yards. He suffered a shoulder injury in the loss, but is expected to play on Saturday.
After a 48-13 loss at Washington to start the season, Rutgers has won back-to-back games over Howard and New Mexico to start 2-1. The Knights are averaging 388.7 yards per game on offense and allowing 365 yards per game on defense. Rutgers has been led by Robert Martin, who has rushed for 252 yards and a touchdown while Chris Laviano has thrown for 457 yards with four scores.
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Last week wasn’t a good measure for what to expect from Iowa this week. That NDSU defense is really solid and would give problems to a lot of teams. Iowa should look more like the team that ran over Miami and Iowa State. Regardless if Rutgers has won or lost this season, it has hit the over in all three games. They should find some points on offense against Iowa, while allowing the Hawkeyes to do most anything when Iowa has the ball. Iowa should be eager to bounce back on offense in this one and put up plenty of points.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 4 PICK: IOWA/RUTGERS OVER 55.5