Big Ten: Iowa vs Michigan 10/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Michigan Wolverines do battle Saturday in Big Ten week 5 college football action from Kinnick Stadium. Michigan is fresh off a matchup versus Maryland. In that game the Wolverines managed a seven-point victory. As for Iowa, they played Rutgers last weekend. The Hawkeyes went on to win by 17 points. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Michigan stormed out of the gate in 2022 with a blowout win over Colorado State 51-7 in week one. Game two was another big victory for the Wolverines, 56-10 over Hawaii. Michigan kept it going in the UConn matchup, rolling to a 59-0 win with 38 points in the first half alone. 

In the Maryland game, the Wolverines outscored the Terrapins 17-14 in the final quarter to finish off a tight 34-27 win. QB JJ McCarthy finished with 220 yards and two touchdowns, while Blake Corum went off for 243 yards and two scores off 30 carries.

Over on the Iowa side, they didn’t have a pretty matchup in their opener versus South Dakota State, but it was a win 7-3. The Hawkeyes took a tough 10-7 loss to in-state rival Iowa State in game two, but were able to right the ship against Nevada with a 27-0 win. 

In game four versus Rutgers, Iowa scored points in every quarter during a 27-10 victory. QB Spencer Petras managed 148 yards on 11-of-17 passing, and Leshon Williams led the rush with 64 yards and a score off 11 carries. Sam LaPorta added four catches for 77 yards. 

The Wolverines are 5-1 ATS in their last six conference games and 9-2 ATS in the last 11 on turf. Michigan is 13-5 in their last 18 overall. 

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are 3-7-1 ATS in the last 11 in October and 1-4 in their last five at home. The over is 5-0 in Iowa’s last five conference games. 

PICK: I’m going to stick with Michigan, but probably not going near this one. The Wolverines didn’t exactly destroy Maryland in convincing fashion during their last outing, but it was a solid win nonetheless. Michigan posted 463 total yards of offense (243 rushing) with 7.0 yards per play and 22 first downs. The three Maryland turnovers helped out quite a bit as well. 

As for Iowa, they were out-gained 361-277 by Rutgers and had just 15 first downs in their win but also benefitted from three turnovers. The Hawkeyes’ defense is their strong point this year, but I don’t know if they’re strong enough to tamp down the Wolverines.