Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 21 Nebraska Cornhuskers
Friday, 11/25/11, 12:00 PM EST, TV: ABC
Opening Point Spread: Nebraska -9
Current Betting Line: Nebraska -9
Opening Total: 54
Current Total: 54
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Iowa has fallen into a pattern of alternating wins and losses, coming in off a 31-21 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers as 1.5-point road favorites. The Hawkeyes will be meeting the Cornhuskers for the first time as Big Ten Conference opponents, but comes in with a 12-26-3 record in the all-time series. “We’re going to go into a very tough environment against a very good football team,” commented Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz. “We’ll see if we can put a good plan together and go over and play hard.” Iowa is 7-3 ATS as an underdog the last two-plus years and the ‘under’ is 7-4 in that situation.
The Hawkeyes are already bowl eligible for the 11th straight season and will be looking to move their record to 7-3 in the postseason down the road. Iowa is 1-1 versus ranked opponents this year, handing the Michigan Wolverines a loss, while dropping a contest to the Michigan State Spartans. Offensively, wide receiver Marvin McNutt Jr. has been quite the story, establishing a single season record with 12 touchdown catches. The running game is still the bread and butter of the attack, led by running back Marcus Coker, who has ran for 1,297 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Nebraska will close out the regular season in traditional fashion in playing the day after Thanksgiving, but the move to a different conference brings a different opponent into Memorial Stadium. The Cornhuskers are coming off a 45-17 blowout loss to the Michigan Wolverines, but went over the total for the first time in five contests. “We cant play that way on the road and win a football game,” stated Cornhuskers coach Bo Pelini. The team ultimately lost three of four fumbles and was penalized eight times. Nebraska is 1-5 ATS at home this season and the ‘over’ has gone 3-2 in that situation.
The Cornhuskers have tallied an impressive 13-2-1 record when hosting the Hawkeyes in Lincoln, with the last meeting resulting in a 42-13 win as 42-point home favorites on Sept. 23, 2000. Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead may be showing signs of slowing down, failing to score a touchdown in a game for the first time last week. He finished the game with just 10 carries for a season-low 36 yards.
Bettors will likely back the Hawkeyes due to their 8-3 ATS mark as a road underdog, while the Cornhuskers are 3-13-1 ATS as a home favorite.
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