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By the numbers: Michigan's history at Kinnick Stadium, key stats, betting trends, more

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie09/29/22

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(Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Michigan Wolverines football is a top-five team, ranked No. 4 in both major national polls. Kinnick Stadium eats those teams up, with Iowa winning five of six home games against such foes since 2008, including a stunning, 14-13 victory over third-ranked U-M back in 2016.

It’s gotten to the point where Iowa wins against top-tier competition at home aren’t stunning or shocking, at all, anymore.

SeasonOpponentIowa Result
2008No. 3 Penn StateW, 24-23
2010No. 5 Michigan StateW, 37-6
2016No. 2 MichiganW, 14-13
2017No. 4 Penn StateL, 21-19
2017No. 3 Ohio StateW, 55-24
2021No. 4 Penn StateW, 23-20

The final rank (following the national championship game) for the teams that Penn State beat at home during that span was 8 (2008 PSU), 14 (2010 MSU), 6 (2016 Michigan), 5 (2017 OSU) and unranked (2021 PSU).

Michigan hasn’t won at Kinnick Stadium since a narrow, 23-20 escape in 2005. The Hawkeyes have won the last four meetings at the venue — 30-28 in 2009, 24-16 in 2011, 24-21 in 2013 and the aforementioned 2016 tilt.

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Since 1982, the first meeting at Kinnick Stadium between the two teams after former Hawkeyes head coach Hayden Fry took over, before giving way to current head man Kirk Ferentz in 1999, the Big Ten competitors are deadlocked at 7-7-1 in Iowa City. Michigan had a five-game win streak in there, winning every meeting from 1989 to 2001. Since then, Iowa has taken four of the last five.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh knows just how challenging it is to pull out a victory at Iowa. Not only was he leading the third-ranked Wolverines back in 2016, he quarterbacked a second-ranked 1985 U-M squad that fell 12-10 at top-ranked Iowa courtesy of a game-winning field goal by Hawekeyes kicker Rob Houghtlin.

Taking venue out of it, Michigan has had the upper hand in the series, leading 43-15-4. The Maize and Blue won the most recent matchup, 42-3 in last season’s Big Ten championship game, just six contests ago for each team.

Harbaugh is 2-1 against Ferentz, including a 10-3 win over the Hawkeyes at The Big House in 2019.

Ferentz said this week that any win his teams have been fortunate enough to have over Michigan has been extremely hard-fought.

“That’s one commonality of all the victories we have had — they’ve all been really tough to earn,” Ferentz said. “You have to go 60 minutes. That’s what it’s going to take this Saturday, too.”

Michigan is an 11-point favorite over Iowa, with the over/under set at 42 points. Here are some trends for each team:

• Michigan is 2-2 against the spread (ATS) this season. The under has hit in three of four games, and the total pushed in one game.

• The Wolverines are 5-1 ATS in their last six games on the road and 6-1 straight up in their last seven away tilts.

• Iowa is 2-2 ATS during the 2022 campaign. The total has gone under in three of four games.

• Iowa is 1-4 ATS in its last five home games, but 19-5 straight up in its last 24 contests at Kinnick Stadium.

• The total has gone under in four of the last six games between Michigan and Iowa. The under has also hit in 14 of Iowa’s last 20 games at home.

By the numbers: Michigan at Iowa

1st Nationally is where Iowa ranks in scoring defense, giving up just 5.8 points per game. The Hawkeyes are fourth in red zone defense (.571), sixth in total defense (236.2), sixth in rushing defense (73.0) and 14th in passing defense (163.2). Iowa has allowed just 23 points in the first four games of the year, the fewest the program has yielded in the first four games since 1956. No team has scored a rushing touchdown against the Hawkeyes this year.

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No. 1 In the land is where Michigan ranks in scoring offense at 50 points per game. The Wolverines stand 19th in total offense (489 yards per outing), 60th in passing offense (254.8) and 11th in rushing offense (234.3).

7th Is where Michigan slots nationally in scoring defense, yielding 11 points per contest. The Maize and Blue rank eighth in total defense (244.8 yards per game), fourth in passing defense (135.8) and 35th in rushing defense (109). Michigan and Alabama are the only two teams in the country to have a top-10 team in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

9 Rushing touchdowns for Michigan junior running back Blake Corum, who had 5 against UConn and 2 last week (7 combined in his last two appearances). That leads the country and is the most by a U-M back in the Wolverines’ modern era.

10 Yards per pass attempt for Michigan this season, tied for 11th in the country.

15-Straight seasons with a pick-six for Iowa, including last week’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown from defensive back Cooper DeJean against Rutgers. The Hawkeyes had 2 defensive scores a week ago (including a scoop and score from defensive back Kaevon Merriweather).

21 Points off turnovers for Iowa this season. The Hawkeyes have gotten 7 takeaways — 5 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries.

23 Negative plays for the Iowa offense through four games, which ranks tied for 82nd in the country. That number includes 9 sacks (2.3 per game), which slots 79th nationally. Michigan has surrendered 16 negative plays, including 7 last week versus Maryland.

30 Interceptions for the Iowa defense since the beginning of the 2021 season. That’s the most by any college program during that span. Michigan has thrown just 10 picks since the start of last season.

68 Points scored for Iowa this season, the ninth-least in college football and the fewest in the Big Ten. Iowa ranks dead last nationally — 131st — in total offense (232.5 yards per game), 124th in passing offense (131.0) and 116th in rushing offense (101.5).

80 Is Michigan sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy‘s completion percentage (48-of-60), the best mark in the nation. He’s averaging 11.6 yards per attempt and has thrown for 693 yards and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions. McCarthy also touts a 146.8 passer rating from a clean pocket, which ranks first among Power Five quarterbacks according to Pro Football Focus.

91 Total points have been scored in Iowa’s games so far this season. The most points scored were 37 last week at Rutgers.

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