Iowa vs. Wisconsin Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 7
By Josh Yourish
The Iowa Hawkeyes and their offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will struggle to hit the 25 points per game mark outlined in his contract now. That’s because the Hawkeyes lost their quarterback, Cade McNamara in Week 5 and last week backup Deacon Hill didn’t exactly set the world on fire in a 20-14 win over Purdue. Now, the Hawkeyes will head up to Madison for a matchup with Luke Fickell’s 4-1 Wisconsin Badgers.
Fickell is introducing modern football to the state of Wisconsin in 2023, but last week his team ran the ball 45 times in a 24-13 win over Rutgers. This showdown in Week 7 could end up being reminiscent of football in 1923. For a look around college football in Week 7 check out BetSided college football betting expert Reed Wallach’s weekly column and preview.
When you’re betting this college football matchup, or any game on the Week 7 CFB slate, make sure to take advantage of this great promo from the PointsBet Sportsbook. Sign up below to receive up to $1,000 in second chance bets.
Now, let’s get into the odds for Iowa and Wisconsin.
Iowa vs. Wisconsin Odds, Spread and Total
Wisconsin and Iowa Betting Trends
- Wisconsin is 1-3-1 ATS
- The UNDER is 3-2 in Wisconsin games
- Iowa is 3-2-1 ATS
- The UNDER is 4-2 in Iowa games
Iowa vs. Wisconsin How to Watch
- Date: Saturday, October 14
- Time: 4:00 PM EST
- Venue: Camp Randall Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): FOX
- Iowa Record: 5-1
- Wisconsin Record: 4-1
Iowa vs. Wisconsin Key Players to Watch
Iowa
Erick All, TE: Last week in Iowa’s win over Purdue, Deacon Hill only completed six of 21 passes, and five of those went to All. He finished with five catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Wisconsin
Braelon Allen, RB: This could quickly become an old-fashioned Big 10 slugfest and that means Wisconsin will lean on its Junior running back. Allen ran for 101 yards on 21 carries last week against Rutgers and is up to 472 yards on the season while averaging 6.5 yards a carry.
Iowa vs. Wisconsin Prediction and Pick
The Hawkeyes haven’t really ever had much of a passing game, but at least this year with McNamara they had a competent quarterback. Now that’s gone with Deacon Hill starting. He was a disaster last week, going 6/21 for 110 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. For the season, Hill is completing 37.5% of his passes for an average of 4.9 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and two interceptions. It’s not like Hill presents a threat with his legs either. He has run the ball six times for -35 yards with a long of four.
Iowa’s offense ranks 132nd in the country and is averaging just 4.5 yards per play and it'll only get worse with Hill's ineffective play. Wisconsin is 99th defending the pass, but 27th against the run, so they’re built to stop this abysmal offense.
Iowa is going to try and slow this game to a crawl. The Hawkeyes are already 131st in plays per game and they might work even slower on Saturday. Their defense is stellar, eighth in yards per play, and they used two interceptions last week to put up points on Purdue.
The total is absurdly low, but Wisconsin has gone back to its roots and leaned on the run game lately, so I’ll take the under. The under is 7-3 in both team's last 10 even if each had hoped for more potent offensive play this season.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change