An Iowa Football Fan's Betting Guide To Week 9

Happy prediction Friday, Hawkeye fans! 

We began the day with our game-by-game predictions for the upcoming Iowa women's basketball season along with our score prediction for Iowa football's rivalry clash against Wisconsin, so now it's time to look and see what the books are saying about this old-school Big Ten rivalry. 

Are the oddsmakers favoring the Hawkeyes after they were upset in Minneapolis, or will the suddenly red-hot Badgers earn the nod after dismantling USC last weekend? 

We'll have all of that information, a betting prediction for the matchup, and some thoughts on the other lines of the Week 9 Big Ten slate. 

Here we go. 

*All betting lines courtesy of DraftKings and as of Thursday, Oct. 29. Call 1-800-BETS OFF if you live in Iowa (1-800-MY-RESET is the national line) and are struggling with gambling. 

Spread: Iowa -3.5 

Total: 36.5 

Both of these are very predictable outcomes. Iowa being a 3.5-point home favorite essentially means this will be a toss-up. If you've watched the Iowa-Wisconsin rivalry over the years, you know that has been a common occurrence. The Badgers haven't won inside Kinnick Stadium since 2018, so that could also be a factor for DraftKings to give the Hawkeyes the slight edge here. 

Though some people may think this total is very low, a low-scoring game at Kinnick is very likely. Wisconsin prefers to play a run-first, grind it out style of football, and though Iowa has its starting quarterback this weekend in Hank Brown, there's a lot of questions about the Hawkeye offense after it failed to do much at Minnesota last weekend. 

Spread: Wisconsin +3.5 

My game predictions always give these away, so I'll minimize the analysis here. The difference that will probably keep the Badgers from an outright win is the fact that this game is taking place at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa's defense usually plays well at home in these spots, and I think you'll see them give their offense enough short fields to win this game in a nail-biter. Wisconsin still gets the cover, though. 

Under 36.5 

The Badgers may win this game outright, but if there's one guarantee I'll make, it's that this game is definitely going under. I just don't see either team scoring enough points to push this game over a very low total of 36.5. We could be looking at a 2023-type Iowa-Wisconsin game on Saturday. 

Purdue @ Penn State (-9.5) 

Penn State had a bye week to try and gather itself after a brutal 0-4 start in Big Ten play, but this is a very bold play to make if you're wanting to do so. Purdue has a pretty good offense and may just make Matt Campbell and Co. sweat out another close game. 

No. 20 Northwestern @ Oregon (-3.5) 

Is Northwestern being disrespected here? Oregon has looked dead in the water (pun intended) for weeks, while the Wildcats have everything to play for. An NW victory here wouldn't be surprising at all. 

No. 2 Ohio State (-6.5) @ USC 

USC has to protect home field to have any shot of saving its season and possibly Lincoln Riley's job, and while I think Ohio State is the better team here, you have to remember the Buckeyes are playing with a backup quarterback. If the struggling Trojan defense can force whoever is under center (Ohio State hasn't named a starter as of Thursday), they have a chance to at least cover that 6.5-point spread.