Music City Bowl Betting Odds Preview: Iowa vs Kentucky
Wildcats Covered 19 of Last 24 Non-Conference Games

The Music City Bowl will take place in Nashville, Tennessee for the 23rd time since 1998. Kentucky has appeared in this game more than any other school (6), and Iowa has never participated in this game. Iowa vs Kentucky odds show the Hawkeyes as a 2 ½ point favorite with the total at 31.
Glancing across the list of College Football spreads we see that the total in this game is by far the lowest of all the bowl games.
Music City Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5) at Kentucky Wildcats (7-5)
Date & Time:
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Streaming: ABC
Hawkeyes Resiliency Powers Public Wagers
The public usually has to be careful when laying points with the Iowa Hawkeyes, considering how unreliable the Hawkeyes offense has been. However, when you’re dealing with a low number, you can exhale knowing you’re not going to be asked to lay more than a few points.
The last time we saw Iowa, they were beaten by the Nebraska Cornhuskers (24-17) as an 11-point favorite. The final score didn’t tell the tale of how dominant the Huskers were after Iowa scored 10 points in the fourth to make it respectable.
To bettors, it’s important to know how this team bounces back after an embarrassing loss and the answer is pretty well, covering five of their last six decisions after falling to cover.
The Cats have not been so great after a college football point spread loss, losing four of their last five. Let’s look deeper into our Music City Bowl betting odds by looking deeper at both NCAAF teams.
Depth at QB Major Concern for Iowa
Joe Labas will get the start for the Hawkeyes in this one. If you’ve never heard of Labas, you’re not alone considering the freshman has yet to take a snap this NCAAF season.
Before we run to the books to bet the Wildcats, let’s remember, it wasn’t like Spencer Petras (Shoulder) or Alex Padilla (transfer portal) were lighting up the scoreboard. In fact, we just might find ourselves with an upgrade with Labas. His effectiveness will be determined by the play of his offensive line, which has seen some changes with Gennings Dunker at right guard and Nick DeJong at right tackle.
We will know early on if Labas will be protected up the middle. The Iowa defense, ranked fourth in the nation, will be leaned on to get this win. Let’s continue our Music City Bowl betting odds preview by hopping over to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Early Recruiting Period, Transfer Portal, Betting Hurdles
This is a disastrous time of year for bettors, because nothing that they saw in the regular season applies to handicapping a college football bowl game.
Between college football players transferring and early signees, it makes it a difficult task to handicap teams who are going through various changes.
The Wildcats had to be disappointed in their 7-5 season, giving the Hawkeyes the advantage of not having bigger expectations to dilute their enthusiasm for this game.
The Cats still have a major weakness against the run, allowing just under 150 yards per game. Iowa should be able to methodically be able to move the ball in a game that will resemble being played on a field a quicksand.
Let’s conclude our Music City Bowl betting odds preview by looking who the public has followed by our selection.
Bettors All-In Hawkeyes, Under
It’s not a surprise that the under would be the play here with Iowa starting a redshirt freshman, backed up by another freshman, while Kentucky plays against one of the nation’s top defenses.
Iowa opened as a consensus 1 ½ point favorite, then getting bet up to 2 ½. The under (31) has been pounded after opening at 33 ½.
Like most college bowl matchups, there are so many moving parts with player movement being more important than the game itself.
To conclude our Music City Bowl betting odds preview, we recommend a play on the under. Too many variables for the Hawkeyes or Wildcats to be efficient enough on offense.
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