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You’re a Complete and Utter Fool if You Don’t Bet Iowa Against Penn State
By Joe Tansey
Published:
It’s time to break the sledgehammer out of the closet for Saturday night.
The Penn State Nittany Lions, without Drew Allar and after firing James Franklin, are only a three-point underdog on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Typically in the college football world, we love to hammer the spot in which a team plays its first game under an interim head coach.
But Penn State’s situation is unique. Not only did the Nittany Lions fire their head coach, they lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury.
The only Penn State players to take significant snaps at quarterback since 2023 are Allar (out for season), Beau Pribula (now at Missouri) and Tyler Warren (in the NFL).
Ethan Grunkemeyer is the new starting quarterback. He went 7-for-9 in garbage time against Nevada, who is 1-5, in the season opener. That’s absolutely nothing to write home about in the context of Saturday’s clash with Iowa.
He’ll be going up against an Iowa defense that held Indiana to 20 points in its last home game. The Hawkeyes shut out Wisconsin last week, but that’s not worth bragging about in the 2025 version of college football.
So, yeah, it’s very difficult for me not to break out the sledgehammer on Iowa as a 3-point favorite at BetMGM.
Other Games to Watch
Saturday’s slate is the most consequential for the College Football Playoff yet.
Ole Miss/Georgia, USC/Notre Dame and Tennessee/Alabama are the headliners. Then you have Utah/BYU in the Holy War for a chance to be No. 2 in the Big 12 and LSU is on the road at pesky Vanderbilt. Texas Tech and Oklahoma also have sneaky tough road games at Arizona State and South Carolina.
Ole Miss/Georgia Under 54.5: Georgia held its last two opponents to 24 combined points. That’s a big reversal from the 44-41 overtime win over Tennessee in September. We typically associate Ole Miss with offense, but the Rebels held their last three opponents to 21 points or fewer, including a 19-point concession against a LSU offense that was supposed to be one of the best units in the country.
USC/Notre Dame Under 61.5: Notre Dame is making the CFB Playoff if it beats USC. The Irish are on a four-game winning streak and have no more ranked opponents left on their schedule. ND’s defense allowed 27 points across the last three weeks. USC has an explosive offense, but I think there’s a tired element here as well. The Trojans have already travelled to Purdue and Illinois in Big Ten play. Eventually the lengthy travel schedule will catch up to them as well.
Texas A&M/Arkansas Under 61.5: While we’re on the topic of good defenses, Texas A&M allowed 17 points or less in each of the last three weeks. Arkansas has a high-scoring offense, but it only scored 13 against Notre Dame, probably the best comparison for what the Hogs face against A&M.
Wyoming/Air Force Over 58.5: Not a big game, just a remarkable trend. Air Force is the only team with a perfect record to the over. Air Force allowed 40+ points in four of six games.
Baylor/TCU Over 66: Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and TCU’s Josh Hoover have the two highest passing-yard totals in the FBS. Both defenses give up over 220 pass yards per game. Baylor’s defense allowed 29.7 points per game. This has all the makings of a classic Big 12 shootout.
Meantime, it’s a light slate for Wednesday night. Check out PA casino apps and NJ casino apps if you haven’t had a chance.
Joe Tansey writes sports betting posts for Crossing Broad and also covers the Philadelphia Union for his Substack site, Union Soccer Blog.