No. 9 Iowa vs. Wisconsin picks and best bets for Week 9

Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI, will be ground zero for Big Ten West slobberknocker football on Saturday as the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes pay a visit to the Wisconsin Badgers. The game will kick off at noon ET on ESPN.

Iowa (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) has had two weeks to stew on their 24-7 loss to Purdue, a loss that forced them to immediately surrender their highest AP poll ranking since 1985 at No. 2. The Hawkeye’s usually sound defense was scorched by Boilermaker receiver David Bell to the tune of 11 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Iowa offense remained abysmal and that was evidenced by quarterback Spencer Petras throwing four interceptions in the contest.

Wisconsin (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) is starting to turn things around after a rough first month of the season. They’ve ripped off three consecutive victories, their latest being a 30-13 victory over none other than Purdue last week. The Badger offense wasn’t effective at moving the chains themselves, converting just one of 11 third down attempts However, they forced five turnovers from Purdue and came out victorious in a sloppy affair.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Iowa: 19th overall, 86th offense, 4th defense
Wisconsin: 6th overall, 62nd offense, 1st defense

Injury update

Iowa

DL Logan Jones Questionable - Knee

DB Riley Moss Out indefinitely - Knee

Wisconsin

TE Cam Large Out - Undisclosed

LB Mike Maskalunas Out - Undisclosed

TE Hayden Rucci Out - Undisclosed

LB Spencer Lytle Out - Undisclosed

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Iowa: 5-2 ATS
Wisconsin: 3-4 ATS

Total

Iowa: Over 2-5
Wisconsin: Over 3-4

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Iowa: 42nd overall, 38th offense, 44th defense
Wisconsin: 23rd overall, 22nd offense, 31st defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Wisconsin -3.5
Total: 36.5
Moneyline: Wisconsin -165, Iowa +145

Opening line: Wisconsin -2.5
Opening total: 36

Weather

57 degrees, 7 MPH winds, 10% chance of rain

The Pick

Over 36.5

**gasp** That’s right, we’re taking the over for a Wisconsin-Iowa game simply on the basis that 36.5 is too low even for this matchup.

Similar to Iowa-Penn State from a few weeks ago, the defenses will dictate this battle and both offenses should benefit at least a few times from various turnovers. Think of the final score being akin to something like 21-17 where the over barely cashes.

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