Rutgers vs. Iowa point spread: Picking Scarlet Knights vs. Hawkeyes

Like most Iowa games, Las Vegas expects the Hawkeyes’ matchup against Rutgers to be a grind-it-out slugfest. According to FanDuel, the over/under point total is set at 28.5 points with Iowa favored by 1.5 points.

Iowa’s 10-7 win over Northwestern last week was its lowest-scoring output yet in a win this season. In the victory, the Hawkeyes recorded just 169 total yards. The team only converted on four of its 12 third-down attempts.

Iowa is averaging 18.4 points per game this season, the 12th-least in the country. On Oct. 30, the program announced plans to part ways with offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz at the end of the season. However, the Hawkeyes are stuck with Ferentz for now.

Despite the team’s sluggish performance against Northwestern, Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill believes the Hawkeyes’ offense is gradually improving.

“I acknowledge that it might not be fast enough for people outside the building, but this offense — we’re growing each week,” Hill said after the win. “I think that’s the biggest thing. The effort every day at practice is there. We’re all giving 100%. Whatever other people feel outside the building — we know what we’re doing inside the building.”

Rutgers looks to bounce back this weekend

Rutgers isn’t entering the Saturday matchup off a win. Last weekend, the Scarlet Knights fell 35-16 to Ohio State. While Rutgers lost, it produced more offense than the Buckeyes. In the defeat, the Scarlet Knights tallied 361 total yards of offense compared to OSU’s 328.

If Rutgers can replicate its offensive success again versus Iowa, it will likely find success. No team has yet to score more than 16 points against Iowa this season. Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is keeping his team locked in on the task ahead of them.

“I don’t believe in moral victories,” Schiano said on Saturday. “I believe that you learn lessons, and we learned some lessons today. I did. The players did. But no, moral victory, I don’t really — we’ve got a really tough game against Iowa here in seven days and we have to go out to Iowa City which is a tough place to play. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Iowa owns a 3-0 all-time record against Rutgers, most recently defeating the Scarlet Knights 27-10 last year. On3’s Andy Staples expects the two teams to hit the under in total points. However, he hopes to be entertained.

“Iowa, entertain us. That’s what I ask,” Staples said. “It’s fun to watch for the under, but just do something fun. Like, what you’re doing is terrible. It can’t get any worse. Try something else.”

The two programs will go head-to-head on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.