The No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes will put their undefeated record at stake on Saturday when they face the No. 19 Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The Hawkeyes (4-0, 1-0 in Big Ten) have knocked off Miami (Ohio), Rutgers, Iowa State and Middle Tennessee State to begin the season. Those four teams are a combined 6-11, and none has a winning record. Iowa needs a win to keep pace with undefeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten West. On Saturday the Hawkeyes will face their biggest test of the season so far in Michigan. After being embarrassed by Wisconsin two weeks ago, the Wolverines (3-1, 1-1) bounced back with a confidence-boosting blowout of Rutgers. Kickoff is noon ET. The Wolverines are 4-point favorites in the latest Michigan vs. Iowa odds, while the over-under for total points scored is 47.5. Before making any Michigan vs. Iowa picks of your own, you need to see the college football predictions from Mike Tierney, given the success he's had picking games involving the Wolverines.
No one knows football like Tierney. The veteran sportswriter, whose work has appeared in The New York Times and Los Angeles times, has covered college football of all levels for decades. And that expertise has been evident since he joined SportsLine in 2017. Since the start of the 2017 season, he has gone 112-94 with his college football against the spread picks. Last season was his best, going 59-46.
More importantly, he is a perfect 8-0 on against the spread picks involving Michigan. Anyone who has followed him is way up. Now, he has analyzed Michigan vs. Iowa from every possible angle and locked in another confident against the spread selection. It's available only at SportsLine.
Tierney knows that the much-maligned Wolverines offense took a step in the right direction last week in a 52-0 rout of Rutgers. Michigan rolled up a season-high 476 yards of total offense, including 335 passing, against the Scarlet Knights. Quarterback Shea Patterson played his best game of the season, completing 74.0 percent of his passes and averaging 12.0 yards per attempt. He accounted for four touchdowns, including three on the ground.
Tierney also has factored in that the Wolverines' receivers pose a significant matchup problem for Iowa. Ronnie Bell (17 receptions for 263 yards) leads the way, but Tarik Black, Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones give Michigan other dangerous options.
But just because the Wolverines may have the edge on paper does not guarantee they will cover the Michigan vs. Iowa spread.
Hawkeyes senior quarterback Nate Stanley is on track to have a career year. He is completing a career-high 64.4 percent of his passes (his previous best was 59.3 percent last season) and has thrown eight touchdown passes without throwing an interception. Stanley has two big-play threats in Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Tyrone Tracy Jr., who have combined for 23 receptions, 418 yards and four touchdowns.
In addition Iowa has the edge with its defense facing Michigan's rushing offense. The Hawkeyes are giving up just 77.0 rushing yards per game, which ranks No. 10 in the nation. Meanwhile, the Wolverines run for just 130.5 yards per game, which is 94th in the country.
We can tell you Tierney is leaning over, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He's found a critical x-factor that makes one side of the spread hit hard on Saturday. He's sharing what it is, and who to back, only at SportsLine.
Who wins Iowa vs. Michigan? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Iowa vs. Michigan spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the football expert who is a perfect 8-0 on against the spread picks involving Michigan.
