[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
The Utah State Aggies travel to Iowa City to battle the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. Kickoff at Kinnick Stadium is at noon ET (FS1). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s (OR FanDuel Sportsbook’s) lines around the Utah State vs. Iowa odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Utah State ranked outside the top-100 last season in both points scored and points allowed. The Aggies averaged 22.2 points per game (104th FBS) while yielding 31.2 PPG (105th) en route to going 6-7. USU returns QB Cooper Legas, but he will arrive in Iowa City without last year’s top rusher (RB Calvin Tyler) and without a couple of top receivers from a year ago.
The Hawkeyes were all defense and no offense last fall. Iowa allowed a nation’s-best 3.99 yards per play. On offense, it averaged 4.24 yards per play (129th). The hopes for a better offense in 2023 come from transfer QB Cade McNamara (2,576 passing yards for Michigan in 2021) and a slew of players returning from injury.
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
Stream select live college football games and full replays: Get ESPN+
Utah State at Iowa odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 12:23 a.m. ET,
- Moneyline: Utah State +1100 (bet $100 to win $1,100) | Iowa -2500 (bet $2,500 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Utah State +23.5 (-110) | Iowa -23.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 43 (O: -110 | U: -110)
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]
Utah State at Iowa picks and predictions
Prediction
Iowa 31, Utah State 7
Moneyline
Avoid all the extra juice here: PASS.
Against the spread
Look for Iowa to get out to a lead with some 50-50 mix on offense and some big plays by its talented defense. How that lead gets managed or perhaps stalled is where this play gets too muddy.
Cap tip to the current line alongside a PASS.
Over/Under
The Under cashed in 9 of 13 Iowa games last season, and 6 of those Unders were by double-digit margins.
Yes, the Iowa offense has some reason for optimism. But McNamara may not play due to what has been reported as a right quad injury. Even if he does play, its easy to envision some growth for the UI offense, some dominance by the Hawkeye defense and a clock-moving-low-play-count game.
An inexperienced USU line just may have too much trouble against the Iowa front 7. Trouble putting 1st downs and drives together may wind up in Utah State getting less-than-14 points, and that’s another way this game lands short of the total.
BACK THE UNDER 43 (-110).
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC / Wisconsin / Recruiting / Transfer portal / College Football Playoffs / College Sports Wire
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]