Northwestern at Iowa

A lot of people are down on Iowa based on their performance last week. They were down 24-14 going into the fourth quarter vs. Indiana. They went on to win the game by 18 points, scoring 28 unanswered in the final period. But instead of getting credit for that feat, they are getting beat up. I was actually impressed by that, knowing that Iowa was in a difficult spot last week. The fact that they could make that sort of comeback says a lot about a team that was supposed to be about defense only. We've been on Iowa a few times this year and they've done well for us. I like them here as well. They feel like they have something to prove based on what happened last week. They are also motivated by revenge. Northwestern beat the Hawkeyes 22-17 last season. That was a stinging loss as Iowa was favored by 9 points coming into the game. Even after allowing 24 last week, the Hawkeyes are giving up just 15.8 per game on average on the season. These teams have shared three opponents this season: Indiana, Michigan State and Penn State. The Wildcats lost two of those three and averaged 18.7 points scored vs. 28.7 allowed. Iowa beat all three including Penn State on the road. Their average score vs. the three was 26 to 15.7. Iowa is just too strong, and they have a couple of big motivating factors to boot. I like Iowa to run away with this one.