College Football

2023 college football odds: Iowa hits Under again against No. 2 Michigan

Published Dec. 3, 2023 1:12 a.m. ET

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The No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes will take a 10-3 record into their bowl game.

More important to bettors, the Hawkeyes have an 11-2 mark in the Over/Under (O/U) this season, hitting the Under 11 times in 13 games.

[RELATED: Texas gave CFP committee plenty of food for thought]

The Hawkeyes hit the Under for their eighth consecutive game in a 26-0 loss to No. 2 Michigan in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday night in Indianapolis, in a game broadcast on FOX.

The O/U was set at 35 points for the Big Ten title tilt, which was also Jim Harbaugh's return to the Michigan sideline after a three-game suspension due to the sign-stealing investigation.

The sportsbooks cleaned up on the first half O/U for the Hawkeyes. 

FINAL

MICH 26 · IOWA 0

NCAA FB

SPREAD

TO WIN

TOTAL

2

Michigan Wolverines

MICH

-21.5

-2675

o36

16

Iowa Hawkeyes

IOWA

+21.5

+1178

u36

That line was 0.5 of a point, meaning Iowa needed to score at least a safety in the first two quarters to hit the Over.

Halftime score: Wolverines 10, Hawkeyes 0. 

Michigan, by the way, went over the O/U seven times in 13 games this season. The Wolverines averaged 37.6 points per game during the regular season.

One of the reasons Iowa held the Wolverines to 26 points was star punter Tory Taylor.

Taylor entered the game with 31 punts of 50-plus yards and 28 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line, both tied for first in the country. 

The O/U of 35 was the lowest number for a conference title game dating back to 2000, according to FOX Sports Research. This broke the previous record of 39 set in the 2008 ACC Championship Game between Virginia Tech and Boston College.

Here's a look at how the overall point total has fared in Iowa games this season: 

Sept. 2 @ Iowa 24, Utah State 14 (Under 43.5)
Sept. 9 Iowa 20, @ Iowa State 13 (Under 34.5)
Sept. 16 @ Iowa 41, Western Michigan 10 (Over 43.5) 
Sept. 23 @ Penn State 31, Iowa 0 (Under 37.5)
Sept. 30 @ Iowa 26, Michigan State 16 (Over 36.5)
Oct. 7 @ Iowa 20, Purdue 14 (Under 38.5)
Oct. 14 Iowa 15 @ Wisconsin 6 (Under 34)
Oct. 21 Minnesota 12, @ Iowa 10 (Under 30.5)
Nov. 4 Iowa 10, Northwestern 7 @ Wrigley Field (Under 32)
Nov. 11 @ Iowa 22, Rutgers 0 (Under 27.5)
Nov. 18: @ Iowa 15, Illinois 13 (Under 33.5)
Nov. 25: Iowa 13, @ Nebraska 10 (Under 25.5)
Saturday: Michigan 23, Iowa 0 (Under 35)

The most impressive run of the game may have been by Harbaugh, who sprinted to try to avoid the postgame Gatorade bath.

Michigan's Jim Harbaugh evades Gatorade bath after defeating Iowa in Big Ten title game

Stay with FOX Sports to check out the O/U for Iowa's upcoming bowl game.

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CFB - Michigan Wolverines vs. Iowa Hawkeyes - 12/03/2023

Tory Taylor