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The Iowa vs. Oklahoma line was coming in at -14 in favor of the Sooners at Sportsbook.com. You can claim up to $250 in FREE CASH when you join today here.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Oklahoma -14 & 58
Opening Line & Total: Sooners -14 & 56
Iowa tries to cap its season with a win over a Big 12 school in the Insight Bowl for a second straight year when it faces preseason No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday night in Tempe, AZ.
The Hawkeyes will try to capitalize on a turnover-prone Sooners team with 12 giveaways during a three-game ATS losing skid (1-2 SU). Iowa will try to control the clock with a running back committee trying to replace suspended Marcus Coker (115 rush YPG). Oklahoma looks to air out the football with QB Landry Jones. Although he ranks fourth in the nation in passing (4,302 yards), Jones has not thrown a TD pass in three straight games since star WR Ryan Broyles suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Sooners offense also lost its top RB, Dominique Whaley, earlier this season to an ankle injury and will be without WR Jaz Reynolds (kidney), TB Brandon Williams (neck) and FB Aaron Ripkowski (back) for Friday’s game too.
The Hawkeyes will certainly miss Coker, who has rushed for 81% of his team’s yards this year. But they still have the Big Ten’s leading receiver, Marvin McNutt (106 receiving YPG). McNutt was held to 29 yards against Nebraska in Iowa’s last game, but before that he had a five-game, 100-yard receiving streak, totaling 667 yards and 7 TD over that span. It helps to have a capable quarterback throwing him the ball, and QB James Vandenberg has proven himself time and time again this season, throwing for 2,806 yards (234 YPG), 23 TD and just 6 INT. And with the way Oklahoma’s 83rd-ranked pass defense has been allowing yardage through the air (302 YPG in past four games), Iowa will be just fine throwing the football. Vandenberg will have to make quick decisions though, as the Sooners have the seventh-most sacks in the nation (3.1 per game) led by Frank Alexander (8.5 sacks).
Oklahoma’s Jones has 10 straight 250-yard passing games, but he has also thrown 0 TD and 5 INT in his past three contests. Without Broyles and Reynolds, Jones will rely heavily on WR Kenny Stills (58 rec, 818 yds, 8 TD). Stills has caught 17 passes in the past three weeks and has three 100-yard games this season, but all when Broyles was in the lineup. As for Oklahoma’s ground game, it has actually been decent since Whaley got hurt. In six games without Whaley, OU has averaged 160 rushing YPG. Sophomore RB Roy Finch has rushed for 508 of these yards on an impressive 5.7 yards per carry. Iowa’s run defense is average (160 YPG, 64th in nation), but it has held opponents to a mere 3.5 YPC in the past four games.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
