Iowa vs. No. 2 Ohio State picks and best bets for Week 8 Big 10 matchup

The No. 2 Buckeyes return to action when hosting the Hawkeyes on Saturday.

By Nick Simon@Nick_JSimon Oct 22, 2022, 4:30am PDT

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud hands the ball to Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.

The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes return to action on Saturday when hosting the Iowa Hawkeyes at noon ET. The game will take place at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH, and will air on Fox.

Iowa (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) is coming off a bye and was last in action two weeks ago when falling to Illinois in a 9-6 rock fight. The Hawkeye offense once again struggled to put much together and offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz came under further fire by the media afterwards.

Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) is also coming off a bye and is looking to start the second half its season strong in pursuit of the conference title. The Buckeyes last demolished Michigan State 49-20 two weeks ago, a game where Heisman Trophy frontrunner C.J. Stroud threw for 361 yards and six touchdowns.

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

SP+ Rankings

Iowa: 28th overall, 98th offense, 1st defense
Ohio State: 1st overall, 1st offense, 5th defense

Injury update

Iowa

WR Keagan Johnson - Questionable (Lower body)

Ohio State

RB Miyan Williams - Probable (Undisclosed)
RB TreVeyon Henderson - Probable (Undisclosed)
TE Joe Royer - Questionable (Undisclosed)
LB Teradja Mitchell - Questionable (Undisclosed)
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba Probable (Hamstring)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Iowa: 3-3 ATS
Ohio State: 3-2-1 ATS

Total

Iowa: Over 1-5
Ohio State: Over 4-2

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Ohio State -29.5
Total: 49.5
Moneyline: Ohio State -8000, Iowa +2200

Opening line: Ohio State -28
Opening total: 49

Weather

74 degrees, sunny, 10 MPH winds SSE

The Pick

Ohio State -29.5

Yes, lay it with the Buckeyes here. Iowa possesses the top ranked defense in SP+ and the only way that it stays in this game is if it can muck things up for the OSU offense. Still, the Hawkeye offense is ghastly by even Iowa standards and won’t be in the same stratosphere as C.J. Stroud and company. Give me Ohio State to cover this large spread in the ‘Horseshoe’. It’s going to get ugly.