The Iowa Hawkeyes (2-1) are in New Jersey at the "birthplace of college football" to battle the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-0) in their first Big Ten Conference clash.
Iowa is coming off a dominating 47-7 win against UMass last Saturday, and Rutgers has started the season with a three-game winning streak in Head Coach Greg Schiano's second stint with the program.
After an emotional win last Saturday, the Hawkeyes must stay focused on a short week of practice and win all three phases of the game.
We have the final odds and predictions for the Iowa's first Big Ten matchup.
Final odds for Iowa at Rutgers
Odds are provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- Iowa: 1.5 (-115)
- Rutgers: +1.5 (-105)
Moneyline
- Iowa: -126
- Rutgers: +105
Total
- Over: 46.5 (-105)
- Under: 46.5 (-115)
Final predictions
Iowa enters the game against Rutgers on a short week of practice after defeating UMass at home. In the victory over UMass, Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz set the all-time Big Ten wins record, and quarterback Mark Gronowski set the all-time Division I wins record with 51.
The Hawkeyes must stay focused after an emotional win, and block out all the crowd noise.
Rutgers enters the game after a dominating 63-10 win over Norfolk State, but their offensive line is missing multiple key pieces.
The Iowa defense should take advantage of the weak offensive line and pressure the Rutgers quarterback all night.
The Iowa offense needs to continue the momentum it gained last week, accompanied by fewer drops. The Iowa receiving core has struggled with drops all season, and that cannot happen against an opportunistic Rutgers defense.
In the end, Iowa will get pressure on the quarterback, and the offense will do enough to win the game, with Gronowski throwing and rushing for a touchdown in this game. Iowa will leave New Jersey with its first conference win, pushing its winning streak in the series to five games.
Final score: Iowa 24, Rutgers 10