Iowa Hawkeyes 2019 College Football Season Betting Guide

Iowa Hawkeyes 2019 College Football Season Betting Guide

Written by on July 16, 2019

After coming up just short of reaching the coveted double-digit win mark a year ago, the Iowa Hawkeyes will be looking to take another step forward in 2019 to challenge for both, the Big Ten West title and hopefully, the Big Ten Conference championship as well. If you’re looking to find out just how the Hawkeyes are going to make out this coming season, then you’re going to love the expert information you’re going to get in this 2019 college football betting guide centered on Iowa’s upcoming campaign.

Iowa Hawkeyes 2019 College Football Season Betting Guide

  • 2020 National Championship Odds: +12500
  • 2019 Win Total Odds:

Betting Statistics

  • ATS: 9-4 (W-L) / 8-5-0 (ATS) / 5-3-0 (Home) / 3-2-0 (Away) / 1-2-0  (Grass) / 7-3-0 (Turf)
  • O/U: 9-4-0 (W-L) / 4-4-0 (Home) / 5-0-0 (Away) / 3-0-0 (Grass) / 6-4-0 (Turf) / 48.9 (Total)

Not only did Iowa win nine games in 2018, they were also a good bet to cash in against their college football betting odds as they finished the season with a fine 8-5 ATS mark that included five covers at home and three on the road. Not only that, but the Hawkeyes also went 9-4 against their Over/Under total odds, including a perfect 5-0 O/U mark on the road.

2018 Team Leaders

  • Touchdowns: Mekhi Sargent (10)
  • Rushing: Mekhi Sargent (745)
  • Passing: Nate Stanley (2852)
  • Receiving: T.J. Hockenson (760)
  • Interceptions: Jake Gervase (4)

Iowa got an eye-opening inaugural debut from freshman running back Mekhi Sargent after he scored a team-high 10 touchdowns while rushing for a team-high 745 yards and 4.7 yards per carry.  Junior quarterback Nate Stanley led the team in passing with 2,582 yards while throwing 26 TD passes and 10 interceptions. Tight end T.J. Hockenson recorded a team-high 760 receiving yards while senior defensive back Jake Gervase racked up a team-high four interceptions. While Sargent and Stanley return in 2019, both Hockenson and Gervase are gone.

Offense

  • Total Yards: 375 / Rank 92
  • Passing Yards: 226.6 / Rank 73
  • Rushing Yards: 148.4 /Rank 95
  • Points Scored: 31.2 / Rank 44
  • Field Goal %: 77 / Rank 43

The Hawkeyes were solid, but not necessarily explosive offensively last season in ranking 92nd overall, 73rd in passing, 95th in rushing and a decent 44th in scoring (31.2 ppg).

Defense

  • Total Yards: 293.6 / Rank 7
  • Passing Yards: 184.1 / Rank 17
  • Rushing Yards: 109.5 /Rank 12
  • Points Allowed: 17.8 / Rank 11
  • Field Goal %: 75 / Rank 71

While Iowa was solid on offense a year ago, they were mostly outstanding on the other side of the ball in ranking a stellar seventh in total defense, 17th against the pass, 12th against the run and 11th in points allowed (17.8 ppg).

Outlook

While there are some changes taking place with Iowa’s roster from a year ago, the Hawkeyes look like they’re still going to be pretty dominant on defense this coming season under widely-respected head coach Kirk Ferentz. Junior defensive end A.J. Epenesa is probably the best pass rusher in the Big Ten while junior defensive end Chauncey Golston has star potential as well. Ferentz also has plenty of experience returning at linebacker and in the secondary, so you should expect the Hawkeyes solid defense from a year ago to be stout again this coming season.

On the offensive side of the ball, quarterback Nate Stanley is pretty darned good even if he doesn’t get the same amount of national attention as some other quarterbacks. Stanley will be throwing the rock to a pair of experienced receivers in juniors Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Brandon Smith and Iowa’s top three running backs from last season also return. Last but certainly not least, the Hawkeyes have a pair of future NFL performers in junior starting tackles Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs.

The bad news is that Iowa lost a pair of supremely talented tight ends in T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant who went eighth and 20th in this year’s NFL Draft respectively. The pair combined to catch 27 of Stanley’s 52 scoring strikes the last two seasons and they will definitely be sorely missed.

Last but not least, Iowa also has a daunting 2019 schedule that includes tricky road dates at in-state rival Iowa State, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Nebraska and a tough home date against Throw in a pair of tough home dates against two teams they lost two last season (Purdue and Penn State) and I believe the best result the Hawkeyes could be hoping for is eight wins at best and possibly a modest seven victories.