No. 12 Iowa Favored By 8 At Home Against Michigan

NFL News - October 8th, 2009 - Written by Scott

In one of the two big games taking place in the Big Ten this weekend, Michigan will go on the road to face No. 12 Iowa. The game is crucial for both teams as a loss by Michigan would most likely put them out of the conference race. A win by Iowa would give them a tie for first in the Big Ten. Iowa struggled last week against Arkansas State, but pulled out a 24-21 win. Michigan suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday in a 26-20 overtime loss to Michigan State. Iowa will look to avenge their 20-6 loss last year to the Wolverines. The Iowa Hawkeyes have won 9 straight dating back to last year.

Michigan's offense is led by talented true freshman quarterback Tate Forcier. He is both a threat on the ground and in the air. He has passed for 894 yards and 9 touchdowns in addition to his 154 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. They will need to improve on their horrible rushing performance from last week in which they only had 28 yards on the ground. As a team, the Wolverines are still averaging 197 yards per game, despite their game last week. Carlos Brown is the team's leading back with 336 yards and 3 touchdowns. Forcier has spread the ball around to his receivers and they have five with over 100 yards receiving on the year.

Defensively for the Michigan Wolverines, they have relied on their athletic and playmaking ability rather than size. This could have been a key in so many missed tackles last week in their loss. They can not have this occur if they are to be successful against Iowa. However, they have only given up 10 touchdowns in 5 games this season.

Iowa's offense has not been over impressive, but has played well enough to keep them undefeated. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi leads their offense with 1,075 yards and 8 touchdowns. He has been plagued by the turnover bug and has thrown 7 picks this year. Their running game is averaging 139 yards per game on the ground and is led by backs Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher. The two running backs have combined for 628 yards and 6 touchdowns. Marvin McNutt and Trey Stross lead a group of 4 receivers with over 100 yards receiving this season. They have combined for 473 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Hawkeyes' defense has been the staple for their team all season. They are only allowing 13.4 points per game and have not given up a rushing touchdown in their last 33 quarters. However, they are allowing their opponents to convert too many third down conversions and must do a better job against Michigan.

According to BoDog Iowa will be favored by 8 points at home against Iowa on Saturday.

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