Iowa Hawkeyes vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 10/30/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 30, 2021

Venue:  Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, WI

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Iowa +3, Wisconsin -3; Over/Under:  36.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Iowa +3, Wisconsin -3; Over/Under:  36 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Iowa +3.5, Wisconsin -3.5; Over/Under:  36.5 points

 

Iowa Hawkeyes:  6-1 (2nd place, Big Ten West)

Wisconsin Badgers:  4-3 (3rd place, Big Ten West)

 

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Iowa Hawkeyes:  lost at home on Oct. 16 against the Purdue Boilermakers 24-7.

Wisconsin Badgers:  won on the road on Oct. 23 against the Purdue Boilermakers 30-13.

 

 

 

Iowa is coming into this game with a 6-1 record overall and they are 2-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 5th conference matchup of the year and they are in a good spot right now with a 3-1 record in their conference games this season. Their 3 wins came against the Indiana Hoosiers, the Maryland Terrapins, and the Penn State Nittany Lions while their 1 loss came against Purdue in their last game. That was their 1st loss of the season and they really had nothing going for them in that game as they trailed the entire time and were behind at the end of every quarter. Spencer Petras had an awful game as he completed 17/32 passes for 195 yards and 4 interceptions. Tyler Goodson led the team in rushing with 68 yards on 12 carries while Ivory Kelly-Martin ran in the only touchdown of the game for them. Sam LaPorta led the receivers with 61 yards on 5 receptions while Keegan Johnson had 2 catches for 50 yards receiving. Seth Benson led the defense in that game with 10 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones along with 1 sack as well. He had the only sack in that game for them and no one on the defense was able to come away with an interception in that one. They have scored 196 points in their 7 games this season averaging 28 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 102 points against them allowing 14.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 311.1 YPG while their defense is allowing 301.1 YPG.

 

 

Wisconsin is coming into this game with a 4-3 record overall and they are 2-2 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 5th conference matchup on their schedule and they are not in the best position right now with a 2-2 record in their conference games this season. Their 2 losses came against the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines while their 2 wins came against the Illinois Fighting Illini and against Purdue in their last game. They beat Purdue in a game that they took an early lead in the first quarter, let them tie it up going into halftime, and then came out in the second half and dominated, completely shutting out Purdue in that half. They are on a 3 game winning streak coming into this one. Graham Mertz did not have a good game in their last one as he completed 5/8 passes for 52 yards. Chez Mellusi had a big day on the ground as he led the team in rushing with 149 yards and 1 touchdown on 27 carries while Braelon Allen was right behind him with 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries in what was a great day for the ground game. Jake Ferguson led the receivers with 23 yards on 2 receptions but it was a very quiet day for the receiving corps in that one. Leo Chenal led the defense in that game with 8 solo tackles and 1 assisted one, also leading the team in sacks in that one with 3.5 sacks himself. Collin Wilder also had a nice day on defense as he was 2nd on the team with 6 solo tackles and 1 assisted one, also coming away with 1 interception in that game. Caesar Williams and John Torchio also had 1 interception each in that game as well. They have scored 148 points in their 7 games this season averaging 21.1 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 129 points against them allowing 18.4 PPG. Their offense is averaging 364.4 YPG while their defense is allowing 223 YPG.

 

Iowa is coming into this game as a 3.5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Iowa is coming off of their bye week and likely used it to regroup after suffering their first loss to Purdue. They may have lost that game but Purdue had caught them in a bad spot as they were coming off of a win against Penn State which likely drained them both physically and emotionally. Wisconsin has a good defense but Iowa's defense is just as good and both teams like to run the ball here so it will be a very close game where the winner will be decided by whoever can either throw the ball or whoever's rush defense gets penetrated first. The best bet to place in this game is on Iowa to cover the spread and to win the game straight up on the moneyline as this will be a close game and Iowa is the better all around team here.

 

Iowa Wisconsin Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 30, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Iowa 20 Wisconsin 17.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Iowa Hawkeyes Wisconsin Badgers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

 

 

Iowa Hawkeyes: 123-148 O/U in all games. 45-59 O/U as an underdog. 24-34 O/U as a road underdog. 50-64 O/U in road games. 89-98 O/U against conference opponents.

Wisconsin Badgers: 31-28 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. 191-167 ATS in all games. 24-14 ATS when the total is 42 or less. 137-129 ATS as a favorite. 82-77 ATS as a home favorite. 96-82 ATS in home games. 128-112 ATS against conference opponents.

 

 

Iowa Hawkeyes:  None.

Wisconsin Badgers:  A. Smith (CB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. C. Large (TE) Out Sat - Undisclosed injury. H. Rucci (TE) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Iowa Hawkeyes: Tyler Goodson is one player to watch in this contest. He leads his team in rushing yards and in touchdowns scored this season. He is coming off of a good game where he led his team in rushing but he just barely got over 50 yards in that game. He will be looking to have a bigger game here and find the end zone as well which he did not last week so look for him to make a big impact on their offense in this game.

 

Wisconsin Badgers: Chez Mellusi is one player to watch in this one. He leads his team in rushing yards this season. He is coming off of a massive game where he was 1 yard shy of 150 rushing and he also scored a TD in that game. He is the core of their running game and Wisconsin is a run heavy team so look for him to get a lot of touches in this game and have another great game.

 

 

"Basically they outdid us in every category. The bottom line is we didn't get it done." - Kirk Ferentz on his team’s loss to Purdue in their last game.

 

 

"That's Wisconsin football, that's what we're known for, imposing our will on defenses. We are finally getting back to our brand of football. It's worked for the longest time." - Braelen Allen on their win over Purdue in their last game.

 

 

 

WR Tracy Jr., Tyrone 

WR Ragaini, Nico 

TE Sam LaPorta 

QB Petras, Spencer 

RB Goodson, Tyler 

FB Pottebaum, Monte 

 

WR Pryor, Kendric 

WR Davis III, Danny 

TE Ferguson, Jake 

QB Mertz, Graham 

RB Mellusi, Chez 

FB Chenal, John 

 

 

Passing: S. Petras (1333)

Rushing: T. Goodson (586)

Receiving: S. Laporta (332)

Touchdowns: T. Goodson (5)

Sacks: L. Van Ness (4)

Tackles: S. Benson (31)

 

Passing: G. Mertz (945)

Rushing: C. Mellusi (692)

Receiving: D. Davis III (241)

Touchdowns: B. Allen (5)

Sacks: L. Chenal (5)

Tackles: L. Chenal (30)

 

Coaches:

Iowa Hawkeyes: Kirk Ferentz (23rd season)

Wisconsin Badgers: Paul Chryst (7th season)

 

57 degrees F partly cloudy, 79% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 8 mph wind speeds N.