Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
In a battle of two of the most offensively-challenged teams in the Power Five conferences, a game with an obscenely low point spread still managed to finish well under the projection.
The Iowa Hawkeyes hosted the Rutgers Scarlet Knights today with both teams having a lot in common. They boast top notch defenses and struggle finding the endzone.
That became obvious to people who didn’t know in very short order as the game went scoreless in the first quarter with Iowa scoring on a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter for their only first half points.
The offensive struggles continued into the third quarter as Iowa took a 6-0 lead on another field goal. But then something unexpected happened: Iowa scored a whole bunch of points in the fourth quarter.
Perhaps as a consequence of Rutgers’ offense failing to stay on the field, Iowa scored on each of their first three possessions in the fourth quarter, taking a 22-0 lead that wound up being the final score.
Checkmate.#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/4bjImnFzh3
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) November 11, 2023
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Earlier in the week, the Iowa-Rutgers game had a 29.5 point over/under. But sports bettors kept hitting the under relentlessly, driving down the number to 27.5 points.
They could have dropped it all the way to 25 points and barely had anyone sweating.
Iowa is now 8-2 and has clinched a share of the Big Ten West title and are close to a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. Rutgers is now 6-4 and has already secured a bowl berth.