College Football Odds: Iowa at Michigan

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The Michigan Wolverines will attempt to bounce back on Saturday following a disappointing loss to rival Michigan State when they host the 15th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.  Iowa has had two weeks to prepare for the Denard Robinson express and defeated Penn State soundly in their last outing 24-3.  The Hawks would be wise to watch how Michigan State defended Robinson last week.  The sophomore quarterback was exposed, throwing three interceptions.  Michigan dropped to 5-1 on the season.  The Wolverines are a 4 point underdog

Iowa runs one of the most basic 4-3 defenses in the country that relies on pressure from their front four instead of blitzing.  They will need to play assignment football against the Wolverines this weekend.  The Hawkeyes have seen Robinson once already when he entered the game for a injured Tate Forcier last year at Kinnick Stadium.  Robinson showed flashes of what he is capable of then and now has developed into one of the most feared players in the country.  Iowa has some talented players on offense also.  Quarterback Ricky Stanzi is having a stellar senior season.  The Ohio native is completing nearly 68% of his passes and has a 5 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio.  Stanzi has thrown for 1226 yards leading the black and gold to a 4-1 start.  The Hawks have been hit by the injury bug at running back.  They will lean on sophomore Adam Robinson for the remainder of the year.  Robinson has 480 yards on 98 carries and six touchdowns.  Two true freshmen are listed in the two deep behind A Rob.  Iowa’s offense is extremely balanced and very conservative at times.  The receiving core is a talented one.  Derrell Johnson Koulianos is having a All Big Ten type season with 21 receptions for 334 yards and four touchdowns.  Marvin McNutt is the downfield threat for the team and is averaging over 18 yards per catch.  Tight end Allen Reisner has become one of Stanzi’s favorite targets in conference play.  He is second on the team with 17 receptions.  The defense is allowing 10 points per game ranking 1st in the nation, but will have their hands full with Michigan this weekend.

Michigan has been down this road before.  The Wolverines started quickly in the 2009 season under the direction of a young quarterback, but faltered down the stretch.  Denard Robinson has been a human highlight reel that had people buzzing of a possible Heisman Trophy being awarded in the near future.  Robinson finally looked human against a Spartan defense that held him to 86 yards rushing, nearly 100 yards below his average.  On the year the dual threat quarterback has been tremendous.  He is on pace to rush for 2000 yards and throw for another 2000.  Robinson has accounted for 17 total touchdowns, but did throw three of his four interceptions last week.  If Michigan is going to rebound, they must find other contributors on offense and shore up a suspect defense.  Vincent Smith and Michael Shaw have split time in the backfield.  They have combined for over 500 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.  The Wolverine rushing attack ranks 6th nationally.  Roy Roundtree is developing into a fine receiver for the Maize and Blue.  He leads the team in receptions with 31 and has accounted for 385 yards.  Darryl Stonum and Martavious Odoms have 15 catches a piece.  Michigan’s defense has been given a free pass early in the season because of the play of the offense.  They allowed more than 30 points for the second week in a row and have struggled against the pass and run.

Iowa’s run game has been stalled versus Michigan in the past, averaging just 62 yards per game.   Michigan’s vaunted rushing attack hasn’t faired well in this game and Iowa has held Big Blue under 100 yards in five of the past seven meetings. The Wolverines are 24-7-1 against the Hawkeyes and five of those seven losses have been by seven points or less.  I expect Iowa to win the game, but don’t think it will be my more than a field goal.

Play: Michigan +4

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