The Iowa Hawkeyes (-6.5) and Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to square off on the turf at TCF Bank Stadium. This key daytime game is scheduled to commence at 3:30 p.m. ET and BTN has the TV rights.
Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Preview
Minnesota is entering this Big 10 game as the underdog and is currently getting 6.5 points. The Hawkeyes are also receiving -270 moneyline odds while the Golden Gophers are +210. Should one team catches a lucky break early it will result in a decent live betting scenario. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 42.5 points.
The sharp action has been siding with the Hawkeyes, as the opening line was 5. The game’s total has yet to change after it was set initially at 42.5.
The Hawkeyes have gained 2.0 units this season and are 3-1 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an Over-Under record of 1-2. The Golden Gophers are up 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this year. They’re 3-1 ATS and have an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Hawkeyes have gone 3-1 straight up (SU), including 0-1 SU against Big 10 opponents. The Golden Gophers are 3-1 SU overall and 0-1 SU in conference play.
The Hawkeyes dropped one to Wisconsin 28-17 in a contest where Nate Stanley completed 14-of-23 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Ivory Kelly-Martin (72 yards on 14 rush attempts) led the ground attack in the loss while T.J. Hockenson (three receptions, 125 yards) and Ihmir Smith-Marsette (three catches, 58 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Minnesota just suffered a 42-13 loss to Maryland. The defense let the Terrapins rush for 315 yards on 37 attempts, including four rush TDs. Ty Johnson had a good outing in the win, recording 123 rushing yards and a score on 11 attempts for Maryland. For Minnesota, Zack Annexstad completed 14-of-32 passes for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Mohamed Ibrahim (95 yards on 26 rush attempts) handled the ground game in the defeat as Rashod Bateman (seven receptions, 68 yards, one TD) and Chris Autman-Bell (four catches, 70 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Looking at offensive play-calling, each squad has a remarkably similar (61-39) run-pass ratio on the season. The Hawkeyes have produced 167 rush yards per game and have seven touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Gophers are logging 160 rushing yards per game and have five total rush TDs.
If the numbers so far this season are any indication, then it appears the Hawkeyes ought to own an advantage in terms of RB effectiveness, as their backfield has generated 4.1 yards per carry while their defense is allowing a YPC of 2.7 to opponents. The Golden Gophers have rushed for 3.6 yards per carry and given up 4.7 YPC to opponents.
The Hawkeyes offense has tallied 226 yards per contest in the air overall and has five passing TDs so far. The Gophers have put up 187 pass yards per game and have six total pass scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, Iowa has allowed 84 rush yards and 177 pass yards per game. The Minnesota defense has allowed 167.5 yards per game to opposing passers and 132.8 yards per game on the ground. The Gophers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.88 to opponents, while the Hawkeyes have given up a 4.89 ANY/A.
Offensively, Stanley is up to 530 passing yards on the year. The signal-caller has connected on 41-of-74 attempts with three scores through the air and two interceptions. Stanley has a 6.61 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 10.15 over the past two games.
Zack Annexstad has completed 46-of-91 passes for 564 yards, three TDs and two INTs for Minnesota. His ANY/A sits at 5.15 for the season and 3.83 over his last two games.
These two schools met last year with the final result being a 17-10 win for Iowa.
RELATED: Week 6 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
Free NCAA Betting Tip: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers
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Notes
Team Betting Notes
The Hawkeyes offense has recorded five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Golden Gophers have accounted for zero such plays.
The Iowa defense has allowed one pass play of 40 or more yards, while Minnesota has given up two such plays.
Both teams have produced three rushing plays of 20 or more yards. The Iowa offense has recorded 19 running plays of 10+ yards while Minnesota has accounted for 18 such plays.
The Hawkeyes defense has allowed one rushing play of 20 or more yards, while the Golden Gophers have given up seven such runs.
The Iowa defensive unit has sacked opposing QBs 13 times this year. Minnesota has recorded just seven sacks.
As a team, Iowa has averaged 3.93162393162393 yards per rush attempt across its last three games and 4.4 over its last two.
Minnesota has averaged 2.7 yards per carry over its last three contests and 2.5 over its past two.
Over its last three matches, Minnesota is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
Iowa was getting 3 points in its previous game and the O/U was 44. The over cashed and Iowa did not cover in the 28-17 defeat to Wisconsin.
Minnesota was favored by 2 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 46.5. The over cashed and Minnesota did not cover in the team’s 42-13 defeat to Maryland.
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