Michigan at Iowa College Football Betting Lines

Written October 7, 2009 by Jack Jones

Kinnick Stadium will be the site for an important Big Ten battle between the Michigan Wolverines and the 12th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The stage was set for a possible match-up between two undefeated teams Saturday night, but a Tate Forcier interception in overtime against Michigan State led to a long Spartan touchdown run to seal the game and hand the Wolverines their first loss. Iowa enters the game with a 5-0 record after their 24-21 win against a pesky Arkansas State team. The Hawks are off to their best start since 1986 and a win over Michigan could allow them to crack the Top 10. Looking at the current college football odds for the game Iowa is listed as an 8 point favorite on their home turf.

Gone are the days where teams would redshirt a young quarterback to allow him to analyze the game from the sidelines for a full year. Michigan has thrown true freshman QB Tate Forcier into the mix from the start and the California kid has not disappointed. In five games, Forcier has thrown for almost 900 yards and accounted for nine touchdowns. He was almost single handily responsible for their comeback against Michigan State. After the Wolverine offense was only able to muster 88 yards of total offense in three and a half quarters, Forcier was able to account for 165 of the 166 yards gained on the next three possessions that included a touchdown pass with less than five seconds to go to send the game into overtime. The Wolverines will have to find some resemblance of their running game that was efficient through the first four games as it seemingly disappeared against the Spartans. They do have two capable backs in Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown, but their offensive line will face a formidable task when they line up against the Hawkeye front four. If the freshman QB is required to throw over 30 times for a second week in a row the Wolverines will be in for a long night as Iowa has one of the best turnover ratios in the nation. Sign up with BetUS now and deposit $500 or more to take advantage of their incredible $500 match bonus that you can use to bet college football this season!

It is tough to be disappointed with a win, but Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz shouldn’t be pleased with his young team’s effort last Saturday. Coming off a huge win at Penn State might have had something to do with their lackluster performance, but the Hawks have continued to show that they are capable of playing to the level of their competition. QB Ricky Stanzi hasn’t lost a game as a starter after taking over the job midway through the 2008 season. The junior QB has thrown for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, but makes questionable decisions at times that has led to seven interceptions. Stanzi is supported by arguably the best offensive line in the Big 10 and two freshman running backs that have stepped in nicely for the injured Jewel Hampton. The defensive side of the ball has been the strength of the team all season and is led by DE Adrian Clayborn and MLB Pat Angerer. They have allowed only 13 points per game through five games and are plus five in turnover differential. Michigan possesses yet another spread offense that the Hawkeyes will see for the sixth game in a row and should aid in them being able to defending the Wolverine offense.

Michigan is almost dead last in time of possession which doesn’t bode well for heading into a raucous environment. The Wolverines rely on hitting home runs to get their points on the board, but that is one thing that Iowa’s defense does not allow since they hardly ever blitz. The underdog is 7-1 ATS head to head in the last 8 while Michigan is just 2-6 ATS against Iowa. Play: Iowa -8

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