Well, well, well…El Assico Week. Iowa-Iowa State. The winner gets…what trophy is this for again? Getting rid of the Children of the Corn trophy was such a lame-ass move. Whatever.
We’re on to Ames this Saturday and the weather looks absolutely pristine. It will be a bit cool in the morning, with temps dropping into the upper 50s for tailgate time. Temperatures then steadily climb into the mid-60s by the time the game should wrap up. That’s a pretty insane forecast for September 6. Enjoy the hell out
of that. Good weather, hopefully good football (yeah right – it’s El Assico for a reason.)
As for the game – who knows? The road team has dominated the series since 2012, with the only home wins coming courtesy of Iowa in 2016 and 2018. Iowa State’s last home win in this series was bizarrely, almost incomprehensibly in the 2011 44-41 Part I game. It’s been a weird series marked by weird stuff. Iowa chewing up yardage on the ground last year but losing and the game flipping on that horrendous Cade McNamara pick out of halftime. The Iowa State punt fiasco in 2019. CJ Beathard ripping off huge runs in the 2015 game. Multiple overtime contests in Ames. Rock fight games galore.
FanDuel has Iowa State as a slight favorite, which makes sense. They are at home, they already have a nice win under their belts against Kansas State, and right now, their quarterback play has been better. Their offense, despite losing two NFL talents at wide receiver, has been tough to stop. Mark Gronowski has the ability, especially in the run game, but we’ll need to see something in the pass game to keep Iowa State honest. Iowa didn’t have that last year so at those crucial stages of the game Iowa was running into a stacked box and the lanes closed up for Kaleb Johnson. Iowa returns most of that offensive line from a year ago and could make hay again in the run game. They’ll need to do that to shorten the game. Keep Rocco Becht off the field and Iowa can come away with another road win in Ames. If it’s close and Iowa State has the final possession again, like last year…well quote Samuel L. Jackson right before he’s eaten by a Velociraptor.
Date: Saturday, September 6th
Time: 10:00 am CT
Matchup: Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0, 0-0) at Iowa State Cyclones (2-0, 1-0)
Location: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA
TV: Fox
Updated Weather Forecast: Sunny with temps in the low-60s, and NO RAIN
Updated FanDuel Opening Line: Iowa +3.5, O/U 41.5
