After barely surviving a tough FCS team in the form of the Northern Iowa Panthers, the Iowa State Cyclones will have their first true test of the season coming over in Week 3 in Ames. That’s the Iowa Hawkeyes, who are gunning for their third-straight win to open the 2019 NCAAF season. The sportsbook predicts a close one, favoring the Hawkeyes by just 2.5-points.
Betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0 Overall / 1-0 Conference)
The Hawkeyes had a cakewalk of a win last week, shooting down the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at home, 30-0. Prior to that, Iowa defeated the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, 38-14. Against the Scarlet Knights, quarterback Nate Stanley led Iowa by passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions on 16 for 28 completions. Junior wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette made one big play after another and basically single-handedly destroyed Rutgers’ secondary, as he came up with 113 yards and two touchdowns on just four receptions. Last season, he had 45 receiving yards on just one catch in a 13-3 home win over the Cyclones, but he should have a bigger role in the next meeting with Iowa State, especially with T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant both gone. The Hawkeyes’ defense will also be a huge factor. They allowed just five first downs to Rutgers.
Iowa is 5-0 straight up (SU) and 3-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones (1-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
The Cyclones are coming off a bye week, so they should be well-rested when they welcome Iowa in Ames this weekend. They opened the season with a thrilling triple-overtime win, also in Ames, with a 29-26 victory over the Northern Iowa Panthers. A win is a win, but Iowa State knows that it could have played a whole lot better in that game, and the Cyclones will have to be against Iowa and its tough defense. The Cyclones no longer have star running back David Montgomery, who is now with the Chicago Bears in the NFL, and it appears that Johnnie Lang and Sheldon Croney Jr. will be splitting the backfield duties between them this season. Kang had 60 yards on 14 carries, while Croney had 56 and a touchdown on 13 attempts. Meanwhile, wide receiver Deshaunte Jones will be looking to build on his fantastic performance against UNI in which he had 126 receiving yards on 14 receptions — second-most in a game in Iowa State history.
Iowa is 7-0 SU in its last seven games as the home team.
