The Missouri Tigers had BCS hopes as they opened the season 7-0. Then came a trip to Nebraska where they were held to 17 points. They may have survived for a possible BCS bid, but the next week they went out and lost to Texas Tech. This has to be a disappointing Bowl for the Tigers as they went from BCS wannabes, to playing on a pre-New year's Day Bowl vs. a team that has lost five games and won't be considered a "get up for" type opponent. Iowa faded down the stretch losing their last three games. Historically, Bowl teams coming in off of two losses are 45-27 ATS in Bowl games, while teams coming in off of three losses have gone 13-5 ATS in their Bowl game. It gives a good team a chance to salvage a feel good at the end, and these teams obviously come in motivated to win. The Tigers have had trouble tackling the number vs. a winning team where they are 5-12 ATS in their last 17. Meanwhile the Hawkeyes have played large as a dog with a 35-17-1 ATS mark in their last 53. Missouri has really struggled the past three seasons vs. good passing teams like Iowa, going 6-15 ATS vs. teams that complete 58%+ of their passes and 1-8 ATS vs. teams that haverage 8+ passing yards per attempt. Iowa is 9-1 ATS on the road the past three seasons when facing a winning team. I know Iowas is missing a couple of offensive players but I still think they get it done. Iowa gets the call.
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