Utah State vs Iowa Betting Odds: NCAA Football Clash

The Iowa Hawkeyes won five of their last six games to end 2022, including a 21-0 win at the Music City Bowl against Kentucky. Their only loss was a seven-point decision against Nebraska. If Iowa hopes to move closer to a Big 10 NCAA Football championship, they’ll have to take this opening game seriously after some have called this a tune-up game, but that’s what they thought against South Dakota State. Iowa opened as a 21-point favorite, a number that has been bet up to -25 ½. The total has dropped three points to 45. We continue our Utah State vs Iowa betting odds preview with a look at both college football teams from a gambling perspective.

Aggies Better Find Some Polish for Iowa

The word out of Logan, Utah is that there is plenty of work to be done. Head Coach Blake Anderson said that his second and last scrimmage was anything but polished. He went on to say it was “gritty” but we’re not sure that a team that’s anything less than a fully functional machine can go into Iowa City and pull off an upset.

The focus was set on a defense that has continued to progress through camp, but not to the point where they could consistently stop their own offense. The defensive line was the bright spot as they harassed three different Aggie QB’s.

Even with the success, they’ll be without Hale Motu’puaka and Poukesi Vakauta who are among the best defensive tackles in the Mountain West. Over the last three seasons, the Aggies are 13-16 ATS after a 4-7 ATS mark in 2022.

Since 2019, when Utah State plays against teams over .500 ATS, the Aggies are 10-14 ATS, 3-4 in 2022. We continue our Utah State vs Iowa betting odds preview with a look at the ranked Hawkeyes.

The End Zone Needs to Be a Better Friend

If the Iowa Hawkeyes hope to climb up the ladder in the Big 10, and perhaps start thinking about the NCAAF playoffs one day, their offense needs to be less painful to watch than it did last season.

Bettors are waiting to be convinced too after the total dropped quickly from 48 to 45. The numbers clearly show that Iowa was one of the worst in the country. The Hawkeyes were ranked 130th in the nation with just 255.6 yards per game.

As you can imagine that was a direct reflection of their 17.4 points per game average that landed them 123rd in the country. Cade McNamara will be Kirk Ferentz new signal caller after transferring from Michigan. The third-team All Big 10 QB in 2021, will have some new weapons including TE Erik All (Michigan) and WR Seth Anderson who was the Big South Conference offensive freshman of the year.

OG Rusty Feth (All-MAC second team in 2022) has also joined the Hawkeyes. We think we’re going to get a lot more from the Iowa offense this season which is why we’re more than happy to let the public pound this number under. We conclude our Utah State vs Iowa betting odds preview with our week one NCAAF prediction.

Iowa to Show Off New Toys

The first rule of making NCAA Football predictions in week one is don’t ever base what we saw last season and assume that’s the way things will be in 2023. The Hawkeyes’ offense is completely different than it was when Spencer Petras struggled to complete 55% of his passes and Utah State is the perfect opponent to show that off against.

It’s easier to assume that a team’s weakness in 2022 will be better this season considering the coaching staff had eight months to address the deficiency. The Aggies’ defense will be improved but even a small improvement won’t be enough to stop an Iowa offense that can’t wait to put last NCAAF season behind them.

We anticipate Iowa getting close to the total by itself, making our official selection over 45. This number may come down even further with 60% of the early money coming in on the under, so wait until you think you’re getting the better of the number. That does it for our Utah State vs Iowa betting odds preview, we wish you the best with your wagers this weekend.

For NCAAF betting news, college football odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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