The Hawkeyes avert an upset as Iowa vs. Nebraska results in the lowest under in college football history.
Iowa defeated Nebraska on Friday, 13–10, to tie the record for wins in 2023. Despite a string of lackluster offensive performances, the Hawkeyes have amassed double digit victories and have already secured a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
When you pair Iowa’s deficiency in offensive output with a schedule of Big Ten West teams who aren’t exactly renowned for their offensive prowess, you get a lot of low-scoring games for the Hawkeyes.
The oddsmakers were taken aback by the abnormally low totals of Iowa scores. The Hawkeyes’ Week 8 over/under gambling line was set at 30.5 points by oddsmakers at the time, setting a record for FBS teams.
In the ensuing four weeks, they would tie or surpass that record a further three times, including the 24.5-point over/under wager on Saturday.
What’s even more amazing is that in all four situations, both the Hawkeyes nor their opponents hit the under.
Nebraska and Iowa will play on Friday, and it is expected to be a very low-scoring game. Sportsbooks have set the over/under for the score at 25.5 points, making this Hawkeyes vs. Cornhuskers game the lowest expected betting point number in college football history, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
There has never been a projected point total for a college football game lower than that of Iowa vs. Nebraska, which broke the previous record set by the Hawkeyes themselves.
The previous record-low point total came from a game against Iowa and Rutgers that happened just two weeks earlier, with 27.5 points. In that one, underdogs prevailed as the Hawkeyes defeated the Scarlet Knights 22-0.
Iowa has been a part of four of the lowest anticipated bet point totals in college football history, all of which have occurred during the 2023 season, including the game that will take place on Friday. The under has won in each of the last three games.
Iowa is scoring 18.5 points a game on average this season. With just 136 points conceded in their first 11 games, the Hawkeyes are giving up 12.4 points per game.
Even though Kirk Ferentz’s team doesn’t often light up the scoreboard, they have managed to win games. Coming into this Friday’s game, the Hawkeyes are 9-2 overall and 6-2 in Big Ten play.
No. 17 Iowa upset Big Ten West rival Nebraska 13–10 to end the 2023 regular season. Marshall Meeder, the backup kicker, won the game with a 38-yard field goal, giving the Hawkeyes their second consecutive 10-win season in three years. He probably shouldn’t have been given time to try that kick at all.
A significant clock error aided the Hawkeyes on a Cornhuskers opportunity with 1:22 left. Tight end Thomas Fidone was the recipient of a brief pass from Nebraska quarterback Chubba Purdy, but Fidone was out of bounds.
After 12 seconds, officials released the ball and unfroze the game clock. There were 1:16 remaining on the clock when Nebraska ran its next play.
With 55 seconds left, the Hawkeyes had the ball back after the Cornhuskers’ drive stalled. Those were perhaps seconds that Iowa shouldn’t have had.
With four seconds remaining, Iowa was finally in position to win thanks to a peculiar pair of almost back-to-back interceptions, one from Hawkeyes quarterback Deacon Hill and the other from Purdy.