Before we get into the game itself, let’s check in on Madison’s weather Saturday. It is again beautiful, with Weather.com describing the day as having “abundant sunshine” with temperatures in the 60s.
It cools off at night into the mid 50s. A perfect fall night for football.
If Mark Gronowski was playing and injury free, 1) Iowa would enter this game 4-1 and unbeaten in the league, and 2) Iowa would be a heavy favorite against Wisconsin, more than the -3.5 they’re at now. But his status is uncertain after his injury late against Indiana, so it’s probably going to be a rock fight and tight all night. Great for your blood pressure!
If Wisconsin has any hope of landing in the postseason, they must win this game. It’s the easiest game in their grueling Michigan-Iowa-Ohio State-Oregon quad (and they still have Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota looming in November). They’ve clearly pointed to this game since last year’s 42-10 drubbing in Iowa City, doing 42 pushups after every practice. Those extra push ups haven’t helped – please direct your attention to the Big Ten standings, where the Wisconsin Badgers sit in last place. Wisconsin. In last.
But the same is likely true for Iowa, with rivalry games sandwiched in around Penn State and Oregon plus a trip to USC on the horizon. The Hawks must win this game, and I think they do it. Iowa’s offense isn’t anything to write home about at the moment, but right now, Wisconsin’s is far worse and they can’t score points. Oh and their quarterback room is decimated by injury. They’ve scored 14, 10, and 10 points in their last three games. Ok, it’s one thing to only score 14 and 10 against Alabama and Michigan, respectively. 10 against Maryland, while looking lifeless as a team and portions of the student section falling into open mutiny calling for the dismissal of Luke Fickell? As they say, that’s not great. I think Iowa wins this game. They cover, though it’s low scoring. Iowa’s own quarterback question marks keep the game in range for Wisconsin, but they can’t score enough and Iowa gets something like a 20-10 win. So we hit the under too!
Date: Saturday, October 11th
Time: 6:05 pm CT
Matchup: Iowa Hawkeyes (3-2, 1-1) at Wisconsin Badgers (2-3, 0-2)
Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
TV: FS1
Updated Weather Forecast: Abundant sunshine during the day, then increasing clouds over the course of the evening with a high in the 50s.
Updated FanDuel Line: Iowa – 3.5, O/U 36.5
