The new conference realignment created some intriguing matchups regarding geography and stylistic approaches. There may be no more jarring than this Friday night matchup at the Rose Bowl between Iowa and UCLA. Iowa's offense has been much better this season, but UCLA has been starting to catch stride over their past few games. It is time to continue our college football odds series with an Iowa-UCLA prediction and pick.
It's unbelievable to look at Iowa's schedule this season and see six games in which they scored 30+ points. The Hawkeyes had one of the most uninspiring offenses in NCAA history last season, but they have been able to turn it around. Iowa has won three of its past four games and has scored 40+ points against Washington, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. Iowa has plenty of ground to make up to get back into the Big Ten standings picture, but it's an exciting step in the right direction for the proud program.
UCLA was asked how it would adapt to the new conference and answered without hesitation. It was a difficult start to the year after they lost five straight games. However, it was a demanding schedule with Indiana, LSU, Oregon, and Penn State. The Bruins played those teams well, covering the massive spreads against the Tigers, Ducks, and Nittany Lions. The challenging games helped them prepare for their recent Big Ten schedule, as they went on the road to Rutgers and Nebraska as underdogs and won outright. It hasn't been a perfect start to their tenures, but it hasn't been a disaster.
Here are the Iowa-UCLA College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Iowa-UCLA Odds
Iowa: -6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -245
UCLA: +6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +200
Over: 44.5 (-110)
Under: 44.5 (-110)
How to Watch Iowa vs. UCLA
Time: 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT
TV: FOX
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Iowa Could Cover The Spread/Win
Iowa could have too good of an offense for this game to stay close. The Hawkeyes have scored 40+ points in three of their past four games and have 30+ points in each of their six wins this season. UCLA scored some points on the road in their past two wins but had fewer than 20 points in six straight games before those results.
Why UCLA Could Cover The Spread/Win
UCLA showed some significant signs of life with back-to-back road wins against Nebraska and Rutgers. They now return home to face an Iowa team that could be ripe for an upset loss after traveling to unchartered territory for the program in California. The Bruins haven't been as bad as their record would suggest, which gives some hope that they can cover the spread again in this matchup. UCLA is 5-1 against the spread over their past six games.
Final Iowa-UCLA Prediction & Pick
UCLA's offense exploded to score 35 and 27 points in back-to-back games against Nebraska and Rutgers. The question is whether it's a breakthrough for the offense or a small sample size that could regress to the mean in this game. Regardless of UCLA's output, Iowa scored 40+ points in three of their last four games, which could lead to the Bruins not scoring many points to hit the over in this matchup.
Iowa games have gone over in eight of nine this season, which leads us to believe the oddsmakers still don't believe in the surging Hawkeye offense. The total here is way too low to ignore.
Final Iowa-UCLA Prediction & Pick: Over 44.5 (-110)
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