Rutgers @ Iowa: Noon ET Saturday, September 7^th

TV: Fox Sports 1

Current Point Spread (according to VegasInsider): Iowa -20

Current Point Total: 49.5

Gut reaction:

After starting off last weeks contest looking downright abysmal, the Scarlet Knights were able to reel off 41 unanswered points in a blowout win against UMASS in the season opener. This week they travel to take on the 20^th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in a game that I believe will be an ugly, low-scoring affair, but I’ve been wrong before.

Rutgers QB McLane Carter threw for 340 yards and 2 TD’s but he had three very bad interceptions that are going to prove to be costly if he repeats those types of mistakes against Iowa this week.

On the other side of the ball, the Iowa offense is led by experienced QB Nathan Stanley who will go up against a Rutgers defense that started slow last week but looked much improved as the game went on. The Scarlet Knights have to do a better job on third down, as they allowed 7 third down conversions last week vs. UMASS.

If I Were a Betting Man:

This game to me has all of the makings of an offensive struggle for both teams. I really believe the Rutgers defense is showing tremendous improvement under Chris Ash but I have no faith in the offense’s ability to score on the road against a very tough Iowa defense that allowed 20+ points at home last year just twice last season. I’ll take Rutgers +20 and the UNDER 49.5 in this one.

For our game preview on Rutgers at Iowa, click here.

Other B1G Bets:

Here are some other wagers I like around the Big Ten this week:

Minnesota -3 at Fresno State, Saturday 9/7 10:30 PM

Illinois -20.5 at UCONN, Saturday 9/7 3:30 PM