The No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes look to finish strong when they take on the visiting Wisconsin Badgers in Big Ten West action on Saturday at Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes (5-2), who are coming off a 35-24 win at Illinois, will be looking to win the Heartland Trophy for the first time since 2015. They will also be aiming to beat the Badgers (2-2) at home for the first time since 2008. Wisconsin is coming off a 14-6 home loss to Indiana last week.
Game time from the Kinnick Stadium is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. Wisconsin is averaging 401.5 yards of offense per game, while Iowa averages 373.0. The Badgers are two-point favorites in the latest Wisconsin vs. Iowa odds from William Hill Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is set at 41. Before making any Iowa vs. Wisconsin 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. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of over $3,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is also a sizzling 50-31 on all top-rated picks through 14 weeks of the 2020 college football season, returning $700. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Wisconsin vs. Iowa. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college football odds and trends for Iowa vs. Wisconsin:
- Wisconsin vs. Iowa spread: Wisconsin -2
- Wisconsin vs. Iowa over-under: 41 points
- Wisconsin vs. Iowa money line: Wisconsin -130, Iowa +110
- UW: Is playing Iowa as a ranked team for the ninth consecutive time
- IOWA: Sophomore QB Spencer Petras has passed for 877 yards during the Hawkeyes' five-game winning streak
Why Wisconsin can cover
The Badgers have had the Hawkeyes' number of late, winning four straight and seven of the past eight meetings, dating to 2010. That includes the last five trips to Iowa City. Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz has had his moments in wins over Illinois and Michigan, and has completed 75 of 118 passes (63.6 percent) for 807 yards and eight touchdowns. He has been picked off four times, but has a rating of 136.6.
Mertz's top target has been redshirt junior tight end Jake Ferguson, who has 23 receptions for 235 yards (10.2 average) and four touchdowns. His best game was in the season opener, when he caught seven passes for 72 yards and three touchdowns. He was named to the preseason John Mackey Award watch list and was a 2019 All-Big Ten honorable mention selection. He has played in 31 career games with 20 starts with 92 receptions for 1,098 yards (11.9 average) and 10 touchdowns.
Why Iowa can cover
The Hawkeyes defense has played well this season and is allowing opponents just 326.4 total yards per game, including 115 rushing. Senior linebacker Nick Niemann is Iowa's top tackler with 69 stops, including 34 solo. In a 41-21 win at Penn State on Nov. 21, Niemann had 17 tackles, including six solo. For his career, he has 149 tackles, including 71 solo, with two sacks and one interception he returned 25 yards for a score.
Also making life miserable for opposing offenses is defensive tackle Daviyon Nixon, who leads the team with 5.5 sacks for 31 yards. He is third on the team with 41 tackles, including 21 solo. He has one interception he returned 71 yards for a touchdown, and has forced one fumble. His best game was an 11-tackle, 1.5-sack performance against Northwestern on Oct. 31.
How to make Wisconsin vs. Iowa picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total. In fact, it says Mertz will be held to under 170 yards passing and one touchdown, while Iowa's rushing attack will be limited to under 110 yards and one score. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in over 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Iowa vs. Wisconsin? And which side of the spread hits over 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Wisconsin vs. Iowa spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $3,500 on its top-rated college football spread picks, and find out.
