CFB YTD: 12-5 (+6.5 units)
One of the more intriguing matchups of the Week 7 college football slate pits the Washington Huskies against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Can the Huskies stay hot after their huge win over Michigan, or will Iowa's home-field advantage prove to be too much?
Check out our betting guide below for all the info you need. This should be an old-school Big Ten slugfest. Good luck with all of your action and enjoy the game!
Oddsmakers opened up this game with Iowa being a 2.5-point favorite at home over Washington. A few sportsbooks in the market have moved the line to Iowa -3 but most are still standing pat at the original 2.5 number.
As most Big Ten football fans would expect the total for this game opened pretty low at 40.5. It's currently sitting in the 40.5 to 41 range at most online shops. Both of these teams have stingy defenses, so I was frankly surprised that this number was even in the 40s.
Washington finally got some sweet revenge against Michigan last week. The Huskies took down the defending champs to the tune of 27-17 late on Saturday night. That had to be a thrilling victory for U Dub after being embarrassed by Michigan in last year's national title game.
Will Rogers has been the key to the Huskies offensive success this season. The former Mississippi State Bulldog has thrown for 1,625 yards and 12 touchdowns so far this season. He's also only thrown one pick, which has to make Jedd Fisch incredibly happy.
U Dub has a well-balanced defense that only gives up 4.1 yards per play. That's good enough for 6th best in the nation. They also rank 3rd in yards per pass allowed. Linebacker Carson Bruener leads the team with 36 tackles so far this year.
The Hawkeyes were riding high going into last week, but they were humbled tremendously by the Ohio State Buckeyes, 35-7. That loss brought Iowa down to just 3-2 on the season, so they're desperate to get back into the win column. Kirk Ferentz's squad will be glad to be back home after two straight games on the highway.
The Iowa offense looks better than it has in recent seasons, but it still isn't lighting the world on fire. The running game has been pretty good, as they're averaging 5.7 yards per rush (10th). Kaleb Johnson is one of the few playmakers on the Hawkeyes, as he's rushed for 771 yards and 10 scores.
The Hawkeyes defense has been solid, but it's nowhere near as dominant as last year's squad. That said, this unit still ranks a respectable 36th at stopping the run. Jay Higgins and Jermari Harris are tied for the team lead in interceptions with two apiece.
This play reminds me of my NFL Bounce Theory strategy. Iowa is off a blowout loss to Ohio State, so we're getting an opportunity to buy them at a low price. Along those same lines, we're getting to fade a Washington team that's coming off one of its biggest wins in program history.
The Huskies have the better overall roster, but Kinnick Stadium is a tough place to play, and you can bet that the Hawkeyes fans will be rocking. I look for Johnson to have some success in the running game and for Cade McNamara to hit a couple of deep passes using play-action.
This just seems like one of those games where Iowa will dominate the time of possession battle on their way to a low-scoring victory! Let's lay the small number with the home team! Go Hawks!
Prediction: Iowa 24 - Washington 17