The Minnesota Golden Gophers are on pace to win the Big Ten west division, and their eyes are locked in on winning it all in the conference, especially after a huge win over the Penn State Nittany Lions. Will the Golden Gophers keep on rolling? Or will the Hawkeyes stop Minnesota on its tracks?
Betting on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-0 Overall / 6-0 Conference)
One of the major knocks on the Golden Gophers heading into their last Saturday’s showdown with No .4 Penn State was that they did not have a strong schedule to warrant serious looks from the committee. Well, they did their job this weekend and defeated the Nittany Lions at home, 31-26, to silence their critics and prove they are a whole lot stronger than even what their unblemished record suggests. Tanner Morgan had quite a game, passing for 339 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions, while completing 18 of 20 passes. Wide receiver Rashod Bateman burned Penn State’s secondary with a 203 receiving yards production to go with a touchdown on seven receptions. The win speaks volumes on how legit Minnesota’s offense is, considering that Penn State had the second-best scoring defense in the league prior to the matchup. Minnesota entered Week 11 eight in the nation with 39.9 points per game, and its offense’s performance against the Nittany Lions has definitely sent a strong message to Iowa.
The Golden Gophers are 6-0 against the spread (ATS) in their last six games overall.
Betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3 Overall / 3-3 Conference)
Unlike the Golden Gophers, the Hawkeyes didn’t have a very good weekend. Iowa suffered a 24-22 loss in Madison to the Wisconsin Badgers last Saturday — their third in five games. Iowa’s defense didn’t click at all in that game, allowing the most points in a game this season while also getting outgained by a wide margin, 473-295. Nevertheless, that’s a defensive performance that shouldn’t entirely discredit the Hawkeyes’ stop unit that entered Saturday ranked third overall in the nation with just 10.1 points surrendered per contest. Iowa also began the day seventh in the FBS with just 266.64 total yards allowed per game. Minnesota’s offense is riding a wave of momentum right now, but Iowa should draw strength from its crowd at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa has beaten the Golden Gophers in all of the two team’s meeting wherein the Hawkeyes were the home team, dating back to 1999. Last year, Iowa beat the Golden Gophers at home, 17-10.
The under is 4-1 in Iowa’s last five games overall
