The Northwestern Wildcats and Iowa Hawkeyes are ready to face off on the turf at Kinnick Stadium. FOX owns the TV rights and the game’s scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.
Northwestern Wildcats at Iowa Hawkeyes Betting Preview
In this Saturday Big Ten game, Iowa is tabbed as the big favorite and the team’s currently giving up 10 points. If they want to play the moneyline, bettors would currently need to spend $400 in order to win $100 back on the Hawkeyes (-400). The Wildcats are getting +300 moneyline odds. Multiple good live betting possibilities may exist during the game, and Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 47.5 points.
With the spread opening at -11 and the O/U set initially at 47, bookmakers have moved the odds slightly.
Each of these teams has been profitable this year as the Wildcats have gained 4.3 units while the Hawkeyes are up 3.0 units.
The Wildcats are 5-4 straight up (SU), including 5-1 SU against conference opponents. The Hawkeyes are 6-3 SU overall and 3-3 SU in conference play.
The Wildcats hope to get back on track after a 31-21 loss to Notre Dame last week. Clayton Thorson completed only 16 passes on 29 attempts for 141 yards and one touchdown. Isaiah Bowser (93 rushing yards on 23 attempts) and the signal-caller Thorson (-10 yards on 11 carries, two TDs) spearheaded the ground attack in the loss. Flynn Nagel (four receptions, 33 yards) and Cameron Green (three catches, 35 yards) shared the receiving duties.
One game ago, Purdue knocked off this Iowa team by a score of 38-36. The Hawkeyes defense allowed the Boilermakers to pass for 333 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 101 yards. Terry Wright had a good outing in the win for Purdue, recording 146 yards and three touchdowns on six catches. For Iowa, Nate Stanley completed 21-of-32 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown. Mekhi Sargent (39 rushing yards on 10 attempts, two TDs) and Ivory Kelly-Martin (39 yards on 10 carries, one TD) spearheaded the ground game in the defeat as T.J. Hockenson (four receptions, 39 yards, one TD) and Sargent (four catches, 33 yards) led the receiving corps.
Northwestern has run the ball on 45.6 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Iowa has a rush percentage of 56.1 percent. The Wildcats have produced 93 rush yards/game (including 91 per game versus Big Ten opponents) and have 17 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Hawkeyes are totaling 157 rush yards per game (148 in conference) and have 13 total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Hawkeyes may hold an edge in terms of RB effectiveness. Their running backs has produced 3.9 yards per carry while the defense has allowed a YPC of 2.9 to opponents. The Wildcats have tallied 2.6 yards per carry while allowing 4.1 yards per rush attempt to opponents.
The Wildcats offensive scheme has averaged 265 yards in the air overall (259 per game versus conference opposition) and has 11 passing scores so far. The Hawkeyes have recorded 235 pass yards per game (244.3 against Big 10 foes) and have 18 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Northwestern has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 143 yards and throw for 234 yards per game. The Iowa defense has allowed 197.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 86.2 yards per game on the ground. The Hawkeyes are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 4.57 to opponents, while the Wildcats have given up a 6.22 ANY/A.
Offensively, Thorson is up to 2,046 passing yards this season, and has connected on 61 percent of his 317 attempts with 10 scores through the air and seven interceptions. He’s got a 5.28 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 2.83 over the last two games.
Look for a balanced approach offensively from Northwestern in this one. Isaiah Bowser (203 rushing yards, two rush TDs this season), Bennett Skowronek (344 receiving yards, one receiving TD) and Cameron Green (319 receiving yards, three TDs) have each played big roles lately.
Nate Stanley has connected on 140-of-227 passes for 1,834 yards, 17 TDs and six INTs for Iowa. His ANY/A sits at 8.00 for the year and 4.53 across his last two games.
Mekhi Sargent, Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson have combined to account for 424 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns over the last couple of outings.
When these two squads met a year ago, Northwestern knocked off Iowa by a touchdown 17-10.
RELATED: Week 11 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Iowa defense has produced more than twice as many sacks as Northwestern this year (26 to 12).
Iowa has lost four fumbles this season while the Northwestern offense has lost two.
The Wildcats offense has tallied four pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Hawkeyes have accounted for nine such plays.
The Northwestern defense has allowed six pass plays of 40 yards or more, while Iowa has given up five such plays.
The Northwestern offense has created seven rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Iowa has created five such runs.
The Wildcats defense has allowed 13 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Hawkeyes have given up two such runs.
The Over/Under for Iowa’s last match was set at 52. The over cashed in that 38-36 loss to Purdue.
Over its last three games, Iowa is 1-1-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
In its last three matchups, Northwestern is 1-1-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
The O/U for Northwestern’s last game going into it was 49.5. The over cashed in the team’s 31-21 loss to Notre Dame.
As a team, Northwestern has averaged 3.1 yards per carry across its last three outings and 3.3 over its last two.
Iowa has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.4 over its past two.
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