Northern Illinois at Iowa

Northern Illinois finished #26 in the country in defense last season and it returns six starters from the stop-unit that allowed only 22 points per game.  The Huskies led the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense, total defense and sacks. Defensive end Sutton Smith led the nation with 29.5 tackles for loss and tied for the lead in sacks with 14. The Huskies have gone UNDER in four of their last five September games and five of their last seven against Big 10 teams. Iowa has stayed UNDER in six of its last eight home contests and five of its last seven non-conference games. Kirk Ferentz's squads also start the season with relatively low-scoring affairs as the Hawkeyes are 33-16-2 UNDER their last 51 September games. Iowa allowed only 20 points per game in 2017 and return six defensive starters, including three on the line. The Hawkeyes have given up an average of only 19.7 points the last three seasons. The Hawkeyes lost two of their top running backs to graduation in Akrum Wadley and James Butler. Nate Stanley is back at quarterback, but his team was inconsistent on offense such as scoring 55 against Ohio State and then a total of 29 the next two games. Play the UNDER.