Red Flags: 5 college football teams on upset alert in Week 8
- Iowa's hapless offense can catch them any given week
- Third Saturday in October shenanigans forecasted for Tuscaloosa
- Ohio State gets a visit from another Big Ten CFP contender
4. Iowa Hawkeyes
Opponent: Minnesota | Time: Saturday, Oct. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC) | Spread: Iowa -3.5
We're trending close to the lowest total in college football history for Minnesota visiting No. 24 Iowa in Week 8. Currently sitting at 31.5 with juice to the under, it's currently tied for that record... with last year's Iowa-Minnesota game.
Even though most would agree that the Golden Gophers defense is far lesser than it was a year ago and certainly than in year's past, that might not matter against Brian Ferentz's offense that's falling woefully short of the paltry 25.0 points per game requirements in his contract for this season. Iowa has one of the worst offenses in the sport, ranking 132nd out of 133 FBS teams in Offensive EPA per play.
As has often been the case in recent seasons, though, Iowa is a team that wants to drag opponents down into the bad place. While the defense might not be as good as it has been in some of the past few years, it's still a top-end unit. And the Hawkeyes want to essentially force teams into making mistakes that the defense or special teams can capitalize on, thus limiting the negative impact of a wholly ineffective offense.
There is most definitely a world wherein Minnesota quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis falls into that considering he has a 6:6 QB:INT ratio this season without having played the Hawkeyes. At the same time, however, P.J. Fleck could be making that the emphasis this week: Just don't make the back-breaking mistake that Iowa needs the Gophers to make in order to win.
With how poorly Iowa's offense is playing, especially with Deacon Hill filling in for Cade McNamara at QB, this Hawkeyes team can lose to quite literally anyone. And with such a low total, the implication is that one score could very much change the outcome of this game. Should that score come for Minnesota, it has the chance to be enough to get a massive upset.