College Football Picks: Iowa vs. Iowa State Best Bets
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The Iowa Hawkeyes travel north to face their in-state rivals, the Iowa State Cyclones for another edition of the Cy-Hawk rivalry. Iowa enters at 1-0 after an easy victory over Albany this past week, while Iowa State boasts a 2-0 record, with wins over South Dakota and Kansas State.
Iowa vs. Iowa State Betting Odds for Week 2
Spread: Iowa State -3.5 (-102 FanDuel Sportsbook); Iowa +3.5 (-115 DraftKings Sportsbook)
Total: Under 41.5 (-110 FanDuel Sportbook), Over 41.5 (-105 BetMGM)
Moneyline: Iowa State -154 (FanDuel Sportsbook), Iowa +140 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
There has been plenty of movement on both the side and the total since it opened. Iowa State opened at -1.5 and has moved over the magic number of three, which means the public is pretty confident in the Cyclones. The total opened at 43.5 and has dropped a couple of points already, possibly indicating that the public is still not sold on Iowa's offense.
Iowa vs. Iowa State Betting Picks for Week 2
As mentioned above, the public seems to be siding with Iowa State in this matchup and considering how the Cyclones have played in their first two games, that opinion seems justified.
Iowa State opened in Ireland against Kansas State, and while the play was sloppy for the first half, the Cyclones really locked in during the second half. They carried that momentum into this past Saturday where they dismantled the South Dakota Coyotes. Sure, the competition wasn't great, but the Cyclones played a complete game, not allowing a score in the final three quarters and putting up 55 points of their own.
The Cyclones are led by emerging QB Rocco Becht, who had his ups and downs this past year, but seems to be coming into his own early this season with a 5/0 TD to INT ratio through two games. Beyond that, the Cyclones have plenty of developing skill on the offensive side of the ball, which looks to be ahead of pace early in the season. Everything is going as planned early on, but their Big Ten rival brings a new challenge this week.
Iowa has struggled to get its passing game going over the past few years but there was hope in the preseason that new QB Mark Gronowski could be the answer. Though the Hawkeyes won with ease this past week, the passing game left a lot to be desired. Gronowski finished the game with just 44 passing yards, and while that was plenty against Albany, I'm sure the coaching staff wanted to see a bit more. The running game looked good, which isn't a surprise for Iowa, but if the Hawkeyes are to be taken seriously in the Big Ten, they need to find an aerial attack.
It's the contrast in offenses that's likely pushing this line in favor of the Cyclones this week and although it feels like I might be falling into a trap, I'm siding with the Cyclones as well. For starters, the Cyclones are battle-tested, well, at least more than the Hawkeyes at this point, as they faced a conference rival already and came out on top. Beyond that, the Hawkeyes are still trying to break in their new QB, and considering the lack of success this past week, that task is going to be more difficult now as Gronowski will be forced into the fire on the road...against their in-state rival.
Iowa vs. Iowa State Expert Pick: Iowa State -3.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
Iowa vs Iowa State Predictions for Week 2
As good as the Cyclones have looked early in the season, make no mistake, this is not going to be easy. The Cyclones may struggle on offense, but the defense is always reliable.
As such, I'm expecting a bit of a slog to start this game, somewhat similar to how the Iowa State game vs. Kansas State game started (minus the rain, hopefully) but eventually the Cyclones will get their offense going and once they hit 20 points, the game should be over.
Iowa will rely on its run game, but a lack of another dimension is going to be too much to overcome. The Hawkeyes will try to let Gronowski loose, but that will only make things worse as mistakes are bound to happen.
A tight game early, but mistakes open the door for a somewhat comfortable win by the Cyclones.
Iowa State 23 - Iowa 13
