Jason Radowitz shares his College GameDay Best Bet for 19 Iowa vs Iowa State.
Last week I decided that I would be previewing and giving the best bet for the College GameDay Game of the Week. Last week I recommended taking the LSU Tigers -6.5 against the Texas Longhorns on the road. They won by 7.
I’m now 1-0 with my College Gameday Picks and I’ll be giving you my best bet for each College GameDay game this season. (I might…. Just must have a winning record. And you might … want to take a look at this pick. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a winner.
This week, 19 Iowa Hawkeyes will be visiting Iowa State Cyclones for the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Iowa is coming off a nice win against Rutgers at home while Iowa State is coming off a bye week after an upset scare against Northern Iowa.
Iowa
Quarterback Nate Stanley has been consistent for Iowa during his career. He threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns against a Rutgers defense that was coming into the game having people thinking they’ve improved. Iowa’s offensive line has always been one of the top priorities for Iowa and it has showed in the last two weeks.
Iowa has run the ball well through the first two weeks, thanks to their offensive line, averaging over five yards per carry. Iowa State, however, has allowed 1.1 yards per carry in their opener against Northern Iowa.
Iowa’s defense in anchored by A.J. Epenesa who is projected to be a top NFl draft pick next season. He had 10.5 sacks last season, forced four fumbles, and had 16.5 tackles for a loss. He was a big reason why Iowa was able to complete the shutout against Rutgers.
Iowa State
Iowa’s defense has held their opponents to 3 yards per rush. Rutgers, for example, has two premier running backs that were stopped in their tracks. Iowa State is inexperienced in their backfield and will likely have trouble finding holes against Iowa’s defense in the running game.
There’s a lot of hope for quarterback Brock Purdy after what he showed last season but he was shaky in their win against Northern Iowa two weeks ago. Purdy had trouble getting out of the pocket against Northern Iowa. Adjustments will be made for Iowa State. Purdy can run and he can be a runner but it seemed like Iowa State became too conservative in the first game of the season.
He’ll have to play against that aggressive Iowa defense. It might not be pretty for most of the game.
The Verdict
I don’t think Iowa State’s Week 1 struggle was due to jitters. It was poor play-calling and flat out poor play offensively. As long as Iowa prevents big plays from Iowa State, I think this game stays low scoring with both defenses showing up to play. The over/under is set at 44.5 and I like the under here.
Iowa State has had two weeks to prepare for this game. Iowa is coming off a shutout win against an improved Rutgers team. I’m not sure who will win the Cy-Hawk Trophy, but I do believe that whoever wins the game, won’t have many points. Go with the under 44.5 here.
