Iowa vs. Northwestern Picks

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NCAA Football – Week 9

The Northwestern Wildcats and the Iowa Hawkeyes hope to both keep their dreams of the Rose Bowl alive on Saturday when the two meet in a crucial Legends Division showdown in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes are positioned better for the Legend’s Division title right now at 2-1 in conference play, but they really haven’t played any of their big time tough games this year. Remember that this is a team that was beaten by the Central Michigan Chippewas, who are one of these teams that covers a spread once every blue moon or so. QB James Vandenberg continues to be a massive disappointment since taking over for the departed QB Ricky Stanzi, and those in the cornfields have to be thrilled that this is one of the last times that Vandenberg will suit in an Iowa uniform. RB Mark Weisman though, has had himself one heck of a season. He has rushed for 640 yards on just 105 carries, and he leads the team with eight touchdown. Scoring eight times easily makes him the cream of the crop for an offense that ranks in the bottom half in the nation in most offensive categories and in the bottom third of a lot of those.

Northwestern knows that its spot in a bowl game is wrapped up, but winning out is just about the only option that it has to get to the Rose Bowl this year. It isn’t likely, but the fact that we are even still talking about the possibility here near Halloween is pretty darn remarkable. RB Venric Mark is the man of the hour for this team, as he has rumbled for 910 yards on 150 carries. He is averaging touching the ball over 23 times per game and already has 999 total yards of offense in that span, and it is no surprise that he is leading the team in total touchdowns with 10. Watch out for QB Kain Colter. The former starting quarterback now plays a lot of the “slash” type of role, as he will throw it some, run it a lot, and even catch some passes every now and again, and he is what really makes this offense dynamic.

Prediction:

Iowa just strikes us as a team that isn’t all that great. The Wildcats are clearly the better of the two teams, and if this game even remotely touches the 50s or 60s, there is no doubt that they should be able to log their seventh win of the season in relatively comfortable fashion. Northwestern 28 – Iowa 20