JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Phil Steele shared some early season betting lines on his blog late in the week and it would seem as though Vegas is not high on the Hawkeyes this year.
Yeah, yeah, I know that the betting lines are there to try to get equal action on both teams so the house can win on the juice. Still, the expectations for Iowa will be low. Here were some of the early lines I saw on Steele’s blog and there are more lines for other ‘marquee’ games this year:
Iowa at Iowa State (-4): I don’t believe Iowa has been the underdog in this game since 2000 or something like that. This game could wind up being one of the marquee Pillow Fights of the year as I don’t expect either team to finish over .500 this year. If I were forced to make a wager at this juncture, I’d take Iowa State and give the four. There are too many questions surrounding Iowa’s defensive line and whomever wins the quarterback battle for Iowa will be making their first ever road start in a stadium that doesn’t get as much credit for being hostile as it deserves. The 5pm start will make it all the more raucous. The one thing I like for Iowa at this point is they will have had two games under their belt to just one for Iowa State.
Michigan State (-9) at Iowa: Holy cow bells, how far has Iowa’s star fallen? Up until the start of the 2011 season, Iowa had gone over 40 games without having lost by double-digits. That ‘streak’ is long gone now but this line seems way too generous. I’d take the points and put my pretend dollars on Iowa to cover.
Iowa at Ohio State (-23): This might be the lock of the year that I have seen so far, and I will admit that I haven’t spent too much time on betting lines just yet. But if I were forced to wager, I’d lay the 23, take Ohio State, go outside and mow my yard, the neighbors yard, come it at halftime to see the Buckeyes had this number covered already. I think this game is going to be horrifically ugly, as in Ohio State could score 60 or more.
Northwestern (-12) at Iowa: Wow. The Cats as a 12-point favorite in Iowa City? While I am not high on this year’s Iowa team I’d certainly wager a 12 pack of Mt Dew on that one, taking the Hawkeyes. I’d hope Iowa could cover that number at home. If it doesn’t, I’ll link back to this item and wave the white flag.
Michigan (-10-5) at Iowa: So the Golden Nugget Casino likes Northwestern better than Michigan this year and lumps MSU, NW and Michigan in a similar area as they all visit Iowa City and you can throw a blanket over the point spreads in those three games.
Iowa at Nebraska (-14): I am surprised to see this line so low…perhaps they are taking into account the moribund angles to the last two meetings between these teams and how a below average Iowa defense was able to gum up the Husker works last year in Iowa City. I would have expected a higher number than this, however, given the three totals we see for Iowa’s home games listed above.
Yeah, yeah, I know that the betting lines are there to try to get equal action on both teams so the house can win on the juice. Still, the expectations for Iowa will be low. Here were some of the early lines I saw on Steele’s blog and there are more lines for other ‘marquee’ games this year:
Iowa at Iowa State (-4): I don’t believe Iowa has been the underdog in this game since 2000 or something like that. This game could wind up being one of the marquee Pillow Fights of the year as I don’t expect either team to finish over .500 this year. If I were forced to make a wager at this juncture, I’d take Iowa State and give the four. There are too many questions surrounding Iowa’s defensive line and whomever wins the quarterback battle for Iowa will be making their first ever road start in a stadium that doesn’t get as much credit for being hostile as it deserves. The 5pm start will make it all the more raucous. The one thing I like for Iowa at this point is they will have had two games under their belt to just one for Iowa State.
Michigan State (-9) at Iowa: Holy cow bells, how far has Iowa’s star fallen? Up until the start of the 2011 season, Iowa had gone over 40 games without having lost by double-digits. That ‘streak’ is long gone now but this line seems way too generous. I’d take the points and put my pretend dollars on Iowa to cover.
Iowa at Ohio State (-23): This might be the lock of the year that I have seen so far, and I will admit that I haven’t spent too much time on betting lines just yet. But if I were forced to wager, I’d lay the 23, take Ohio State, go outside and mow my yard, the neighbors yard, come it at halftime to see the Buckeyes had this number covered already. I think this game is going to be horrifically ugly, as in Ohio State could score 60 or more.
Northwestern (-12) at Iowa: Wow. The Cats as a 12-point favorite in Iowa City? While I am not high on this year’s Iowa team I’d certainly wager a 12 pack of Mt Dew on that one, taking the Hawkeyes. I’d hope Iowa could cover that number at home. If it doesn’t, I’ll link back to this item and wave the white flag.
Michigan (-10-5) at Iowa: So the Golden Nugget Casino likes Northwestern better than Michigan this year and lumps MSU, NW and Michigan in a similar area as they all visit Iowa City and you can throw a blanket over the point spreads in those three games.
Iowa at Nebraska (-14): I am surprised to see this line so low…perhaps they are taking into account the moribund angles to the last two meetings between these teams and how a below average Iowa defense was able to gum up the Husker works last year in Iowa City. I would have expected a higher number than this, however, given the three totals we see for Iowa’s home games listed above.
