Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (3-5)
November 6, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Northwestern Wildcats +11 ; Over/Under: 40.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Northwestern Wildcats meet the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday in week 10 Big Ten college football action from Ryan Field. Iowa played Wisconsin in their last outing. In that one, the Hawkeyes fell by 20 points. As for the Wildcats, they’re coming off a game versus Minnesota. Northwestern ended up losing in a blowout there. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Iowa kicked off the 2021 season with six straight wins, taking out Indiana, Iowa State, Kent State, Colorado State, Maryland and Penn State in succession. The Hawkeyes couldn’t keep it going against Purdue and fell 24-7 in a flat outing.
Last weekend versus Wisconsin, Iowa was flat from the beginning, taking a 20-0 deficit into the half on the way to a 27-7 defeat. QB Spencer Petras had just 93 yards, and Tyler Goodson led the tepid rushing attack with 27 yards from 13 carries.
Over on the Northwestern side, they went 3-3 over their first half-dozen games, losing to Michigan State, Duke and Nebraska while otherwise taking out Indiana State, Ohio and Rutgers. The Wildcats would then fall 33-7 to Michigan on October 23.
In the Minnesota game last weekend, Northwestern fell behind 20-7 at halftime and couldn’t bridge the gap in a 41-14 blowout loss. QB Andrew Marty had 93 yards and two scores on 10-of-16 passing, and Evan Hull put up 107 yards on 15 carries.
The Hawkeyes are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games and 4-1 ATS in their last five on grass. Iowa is also 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 conference games.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last five in November and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games. Northwestern is 5-2 ATS in their last seven after a straight-up loss as well.
PICK: I’m going to take Iowa, but probably not going near this game. The Hawkeyes put up a dismal 156 total yards against Wisconsin, notching just nine first downs and 2.8 yards per play. The three fumbles and 2-of-13 line on third downs didn’t help, either. It was an ugly, fluke effort from a team that really has no business playing so flatly.
As for Northwestern, they did a few good things against Minnesota but overall had a poor game themselves with 442 yards, 29 first downs and 10-of-14 on third-down tries allowed. If Iowa comes back strong I don’t see the Wildcats staying in range here.
