After failing to get out of the College Football Playoff semifinals in each of the past two seasons, the second-ranked Michigan Wolverines are looking for redemption and another crack at it when they battle the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 Big Ten Conference Championship Game on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Wolverines (12-0), however, will need to defeat Iowa to earn a spot in the semifinals. Michigan beat Iowa 42-3 in the 2021 Big Ten title game, but lost 34-11 to Georgia in the national semifinals. Last season, the Wolverines downed Purdue 43-22 in the Big Ten championship, but lost 51-45 to TCU in the semis. The Hawkeyes (10-2) are looking for their first win in the Big Ten title game, having lost twice prior.
The game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET. Michigan is averaging 394.5 yards of total offense, while Iowa averages 246.3. The Wolverines are favored by 21.5 points in the latest Michigan vs. Iowa odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 35. Before making any Iowa vs. Michigan picks, check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a strong profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It finished the 2023 regular season a profitable 13-9 on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Michigan vs. Iowa and locked in its picks and CFB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the FBS college football odds and betting lines for Iowa vs. Michigan:
- Michigan vs. Iowa spread: Michigan -21.5
- Michigan vs. Iowa over/under: 35 points
- Michigan vs. Iowa: Michigan -2840, Iowa +1212
- MICH: The Wolverines are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games
- IOWA: The Hawkeyes are 5-1 ATS in their last six games played in December
- Michigan vs. Iowa picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Michigan vs. Iowa live stream: fubo (try for free)
Why Michigan can cover
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy can spread the ball around to a solid receiving corps that has eight players at least 11 catches, including five with 21 or more. Leading the group is senior wide receiver Roman Wilson. He has a team-high 40 receptions for 648 yards (16.2 average) and 11 touchdowns. He has scored two or more TDs in three games, including three in a 30-3 season-opening win over East Carolina on Sept. 2. The Michigan passing attack will be facing an Iowa secondary that is missing star cornerback Cooper DeJean (leg).
On defense, senior defensive end Jaylen Harrell has been a dominant force. He leads the team with 5.5 sacks for 46 yards and has forced two fumbles. He is among the team leaders in tackles with 26, including 12 solo. In the Nov. 11 win at Penn State, he made five tackles, including three solo, with one sack. He had two sacks and a forced fumble in a 52-7 win over Indiana on Oct. 14. See which team to pick here.
Why Iowa can cover
The Hawkeyes have leaned heavily on their defense to reach this point in the season. Senior linebacker Jay Higgins leads the group with a team-high 141 tackles, including 60 solo, with one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He has one sack for two yards, three pass breakups and one interception. He has registered double-digit tackles in eight games, including a season-high 18, including 10 solo, in the loss at No. 7 Penn State on Sept. 23.
Also helping power the defense is fifth-year senior linebacker Nick Jackson, who is in his first year at the school after spending four years at Virginia. He is second on the team with 91 tackles, including 37 solo, with four sacks for 16 yards. He has one pass breakup and two forced fumbles. He has had two games with double-digit stops, including a 13-tackle performance against Penn State. See which team to pick here.
How to make Iowa vs. Michigan picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 42 total points. It also says one side of the spread hits more than 60% of the time. You can only get the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Michigan vs. Iowa, and which side of the spread hits in more than 60% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that's up well over $2,000 on top-rated college football picks since its inception, and find out.
