When the Hawkeyes and Cyclones meet up it’s a great rivalry no matter where the respective teams are at in the current rankings. The Week 2 Iowa at Iowa State matchup gets a ton of additional fuel dumped on the fire as Kirk Ferentz leads his #10 Hawks on the road against #9 ranked ISU.
Iowa State is a -4.5 favorite this weekend, which isn’t surprising considering they are ranked #9 in the country. That also gives the Hawkeyes some value at +4.5 though considering they have won five straight in the head to head series. The last two head to heads in Ames have been decided by a total of 4 points.
Public Likes Iowa
The Hawkeyes looked very good in their season opener, beating on a good Indiana team 34-6 as -3.5 favorites in Iowa City. The defense was the star of that win, limiting Indiana’s QB Michael Penix, Jr. to just 156 yards and 3 INT. The Hoosiers ran the ball 37 times for just 77 yards last week.
67% of public bettors like the Hawkeyes getting points in the week 2 Iowa at Iowa State matchup. It was a big win for Ferentz’s team last week, but they also benefited from a couple of Riley Moss TD returns on interceptions. The Iowa offense also got a 56-yard TD run from Tyler Goodson meaning the offense really only scored 13 points on sustained drives.
Spencer Petras completed less than 50% of his passes in the season opener, going just 13 of 27 for 145 yards. Those numbers aren’t great for a redshirt Junior entering his second season as the main man under center.
Statement Game for ‘Clones
ISU might seem like a strange -4.5 favorite on Saturday, but there aren’t a lot of weaknesses on this team – especially on offense. The Cyclones have 10 starters back from last year’s offense, have a running back who had 1500+ yards and 21 TD last year, and a QB entering his 4th year as a starter. This is the last chance for RB Breece Hall and QB Brock Purdy to get a win over Iowa as they’re likely headed to play on Sundays next year.
Granted Iowa State got caught in a ‘look ahead’ game last week, beating Northern Iowa just 16-10 as -28.5 favorites. Purdy hit on 21 of 26 and looked to be missing All-American TE Charlie Kolar who will return this week. Hall had just 69 yards on 23 carries which is concerning, but the Cyclones were obviously just gearing up to play Iowa.
For as good as the Hawkeyes defense is (#11 overall last year), the Cyclones are right there with them in ranking #10 against the rush in 2020 and bringing back 10 starters.
Week 2 Iowa at Iowa State Pick
These defenses are both great but cancel each other out. One team looked good last week (Iowa) but needed two defensive TDs and a 56-yard run to do so. ISU laid an egg against Northern Iowa, but have a couple of 6’6″+ tight ends, and the advantage of having the much better Purdy at QB compared to Petras. Sure these two play each other tight almost always, so why is the line 4.5?
Iowa State 34 – Iowa 17
Free Pick: Iowa State -4.5
