Big Ten Week 2 - Greg Frank picks Rutgers at Iowa, Eastern Illinois at Indiana

Rutgers running back Raheem Blackshear (2) hurdles a Massachusetts defender during a 20-yard reception on Aug. 30 (Andrew Mills/NJ Advance Media)Associated Press

Published on:

06 Sep 2019, 6:09 pm

Rutgers (+19.5) @ Iowa (49.5)

Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12 Noon ET

Pick: Under 49.5

Rutgers clobbered UMass in its opening game last weekend, 48-21. Iowa also won comfortably, posting a 38-14 victory over Miami of Ohio. Which result do you think is more indicative of what’s to come for both teams? It’s obviously Iowa winning easily and allowing only 14 points. You can never feel comfortable laying close to three touchdowns in a game with a total under 50 so why not just play under 49.5 in this matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Scarlet Knights? Iowa has always prided itself on being a gritty, hard-nosed, defensively-oriented football team and that’s not going to change on Saturday at home against the lowly Scarlet Knights. Another anomaly from the big win for Rutgers in Week 1 was a 31-point second quarter. Otherwise, the Scarlet Knights would not have covered the 17-point spread and certainly wouldn’t have hung close to 50 on UMass. Iowa grinds one out here and will be up two scores most of the second half. The spread is too big to lay with the Hawkeyes so take the game under the total.

● ● ●

Eastern Illinois (+35.5) @ Indiana (61.5)

Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 PM ET

Pick: Pass

I was willing to lay over 17 points with the Hoosiers last week on a neutral field and was not rewarded as Ball State came away with the cover in Indiana’s 34-24 victory. This point spread is now double what the Hoosiers were laying in Week 1. Jimmy Garoppolo and Tony Romo aren’t walking through the door to play quarterback for Eastern Illinois again but with a team in the Hoosiers that is going to be much closer to the bottom of the Big Ten than the top of the league, how can you feel confident about laying five touchdowns? None of this is to say Indiana won’t cover the game as Eastern Illinois isn’t even going to be one of the better teams in the Ohio Valley conference and lost its opener against Chattanooga, 24-10, last week. But, I don’t have much of a feel on either side after Indiana did not impress against Ball State last week. I’m staying away.

● ● ●