Betsided

Purdue vs. Iowa Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 6

A full betting preview for a Week 6 Big 10 matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and Purdue Boilermakers.

By Josh Yourish

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Deacon Hill (10)
Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Deacon Hill (10) / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit

Well, things have changed a lot in Iowa for the 4-1 Iowa Hawkeyes.

In their Week 5 win over Michigan State, they lost their quarterback, Cade McNamara to a season-ending knee injury. Now, Deacon Hill will lead the Iowa offense against the 2-3 Purdue Boilermakers. 

Purdue got its first Big 10 win of the season last week, 44-19 over Illinois. Ryan Walters will need to start stacking wins in conference play if he wants to be bowl-eligible in Year 1. Before we dig deeper into this Big 10 matchup, you can get a wider look around the country with BetSided college betting expert Reed Wallach’s weekly column and preview. 

When you’re betting this college football matchup in Week 6, be sure to take advantage of this great promo in the Caesars Sportsbook. Just sign up below and get your first bet on Caesar. 

Purdue vs. Iowa Odds, Spread and Total

Iowa vs. Purdue Betting Trends

  • Iowa is 2-2-1 ATS
  • The UNDER is 3-2 in Iowa games
  • Purdue is 2-3 ATS
  • The OVER is 3-2 in Purdue games

Purdue vs. Iowa How to Watch

  • Date: Saturday, October 7
  • Time: 3:30 PM EST
  • Venue: Kinnick Stadium
  • How to Watch (TV): Peacock
  • Purdue Record: 2-3
  • Iowa Record: 4-1

Purdue vs. Iowa Key Players to Watch

Purdue

Deion Burks, WR: Burks isn’t leading the team in catches, but he makes up for that with his big-play ability. Burks has 20 catches for 377 yards and four touchdowns this season. That’s an average of 18.9 yards per reception which is 5.8 yards more than Abdul-Rahmaan Yaseen who is second in yards per catch and leads the team with 24 grabs. Burks has also made four of the team’s five total touchdown grabs. 

Iowa

Deacon Hill, QB: Cade McNamara’s season is done. He suffered a non-contact knee injury against Michigan State and is now out for the year. That means sophomore quarterback Deacon Hill will try to lead the Hawkeyes to 25 points a game. Hill threw for 115 yards and a touchdown with one interception in relief of McNamara against Michigan State. Hill led Iowa to a 26-16 win, but only completed 11 of his 27 passes. 

Purdue vs. Iowa Prediction and Pick

The Iowa offense is going from bad to worse without McNamara. For the season, that unit ranks 132nd in yards per play at 4.3 and then last week against a bad Michigan State team, they only gained 3.8 yards per play. The Hawkeyes actually only gained 15 first downs compared to Michigan State’s 20, but the Spartans turned the ball over four times to just two turnovers for Iowa. 

The Hawkeyes are the worst offensive team in the entire country, averaging 240.8 yards per game which also ranks 132nd and they rank 101st scoring 22.2 points a game. Hill only completed 11-of-27 passes which is somehow a drop off from McNamara who completed 51.1% of his throws. It’s not like they can lean on the run either because they rank 115th in rushing offense and 112th in yards per rush. 

It’ll take some time to see how much a change at quarterback actually hurts Iowa. It’s not like this team had a good offense, so does it really even matter?

The Hawkeyes are still eighth in yards per play allowed at 4.3 and crucially they are second in yards per completion and yards per pass attempt. That will make it hard for Hudson Card and Purdue to move the ball this Saturday. 

The total is very low, but I have to take the under. Despite consistently low totals, the under is still a profitable 7-3 in Iowa’s last 10 games. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change

Home/NCAAF Picks