Michigan State Spartans vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Odds
This Michigan State Spartans vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Odds report is brought to you by Sportsbook.com.
The Spartans bring their 8-0 record and #5 ranking to Iowa for a Big Ten battle Saturday afternoon. Sportsbook.com is expecting MSU to lose their first game of the year as the point spread is currently Iowa -6.5.
After checking the college football betting trends at Sportsbook.com, the public sees value in MSU as 63 percent of the bettors are taking the points.
The one-sided betting pattern shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the Spartans generosity to the college football betting crowd recently, having covered the point spread in five straight games.
MSU erased a 17-point deficit to beat Northwestern last week, while Iowa surrendered the game-winning TD with 1:05 left against Wisconsin to lose 31-30. Both quarterbacks have been excellent this year, as Kirk Cousins has 14 TD and just four INT for the Spartans, while Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi has 16 TD and just two INT this season.
Cousins would like the offense to get going earlier in this game after having to pull off two consecutive second-half comebacks. Two weeks ago, Michigan State trailed 6-3 at the half against Illinois before blanking the Illini in the second half and winning 26-6. Last Saturday, the Spartans were down 17-7 at halftime before coming back to beat Northwestern 35-27.
Stanzi has led Iowa to 24 points or more in each of its seven games this year. The defense has not held up its end of the bargain lately, surrendering 59 points over the past two weeks. This is a stark contrast to the first five games of the season when Iowa held four opponents to seven points or less. The rushing defense is still excellent, ranking eighth in the country with 92 rush YPG allowed.
Iowa is 10-3 against the spread versus Michigan State since 1992. But these two betting trends uncovered at Sportsbook.com like Michigan State to at least cover, and possibly even win the game outright.
Play On - Underdogs of 3.5 to 10 points (MICHIGAN ST) - with an opportunistic defense - forcing 2.5 or more turnovers/game, after 2 consecutive game where they committed 1 or less turnovers.
(50-20 over the last 10 seasons.) (71.4%, +28 units. Rating = 3*).
Play Against - Favorites of 3.5 to 10 points (IOWA) - off an extremely close loss by 3 points or less to a conference rival, with a winning record on the season playing another winning team. (41-15 since 1992.) (73.2%, +24.5 units. Rating = 2*).
For bettors looking to place a wager on the ‘total’ (50.5 pts), this trend indicates that the ‘under’ is the way to go.
Play Under - Any team against the total (MICHIGAN ST) - after covering the spread in 5 or 6 out of their last 7 games, in October games. (66-28 over the last 5 seasons.) (70.2%, +35.2 units. Rating = 3*).
To bet on this Big 10 match-up or to scan this weekend’s college football betting odds, head over to Sportsbook.com now. And if you are looking for a bargain, place your bets on Friday at reduced juice (-105).
