Iowa Hawkeyes Football Odds

The Iowa Hawkeyes won the Big Ten’s West Division in 2021 and could start the upcoming season in the top 25. But a tougher 2022 schedule leaves oddsmakers skeptical about a return trip to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Big Ten East rotation for 2022 features games against powerhouses Michigan and at Ohio State. They replace Penn State and Indiana in the rotation. Rutgers is the third East opponent, replacing Maryland.

Even so, the Hawkeyes have a strong nucleus coming back. Iowa hosts South Dakota State in the Sept. 3 opener.

This guide to betting on the Iowa Hawkeyes begins with the live odds on the next Hawkeyes’ games, a look at the history of the college team and some key highlights. Let’s look at how you’ll be able to place those bets on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

How to Bet On Iowa Football

With a few exceptions, it’s completely legal to place wagers on Hawkeye football games at licensed Iowa sportsbooks. As long as you’re at least 21 years of age and within the state’s borders at the time you bet, you should be good to go.

While you can visit any retail sportsbook inside an Iowa casino or visit any licensed legal sports betting website or sportsbook apps. Most of the operators offer an app for Android and Apple devices.

To get started, visit the Apple App Store on your iPhone, the Google Play Store on your Android device or the sportsbook’s website. From there, it’s a matter of installing the app. After that, you’ll need to register your account. Note that if you’re on any gambling self-exclusion lists, you won’t be able to register.

If you live in another state, you don’t have to be in Iowa to open an account; you do need to be in Iowa to wager. Most sportsbooks will request the following information from you:

• Legal name
• Date of birth
• Mailing address
• Email address
• Last four digits of your Social Security number

Once your sportsbook account is verified and you’re logged in, the next step is to add funds to your account. Most IA sports betting apps will accept a variety of payment forms; however, credit cards are not allowed.

• ACH payments from checking or savings accounts
• Debit cards
• PayNearMe or Skrill
• Prepaid cards
• Third-party e-wallets, including PayPal

You can always visit a retail sportsbook associated with the app you want to use to make deposits and withdrawals in cash as well. After that, just navigate the app to college football markets.

College Football Betting Formats

IA law allows licensed operators to take action on college football in a number of ways. From wagers on the entire season to single games to events within a game, there’s something for every taste.

One of the most popular ways to bet on a single game is the point spread. In that kind of market, you’re wagering on the margin of loss or victory for the team you stake. A real example from an IA sportsbook is below.

Point spread betting on college football

In these markets, the home team is always on the bottom. Your choice in this sample is to either stake Iowa or Iowa State in this market, with 2.5 points between them. The negative sign means the Cyclones are favored, while the positive sign means the Hawkeyes are the underdog.

So, whether you win depends on the final score and how you bet the game. If you took Iowa State, you’d need the Cyclones to win by at least three points. If they lose or win by only two points or win by just a single point, you would lose.

On the other hand, if bet on Iowa to cover, you would need the Hawkeyes to either win the game or lose by no more than two points. If the Cyclones win by at least three points, you would lose your bet.

The -110 odds tell you what your payout would be if you win. Because these odds are negative, you would need to wager $110 to make $100 in profit. Thus, your total payout would be $210 if you bet that much and you bet wisely.

Futures betting on college football

Another very popular way to bet on college football is placing a wager on events that take the entire season to decide. Examples of this include division titles, conference championship games, playoff spots, and the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

While not all IA sportsbooks may offer the same futures markets when it comes to Iowa football, a popular market is which team will win the Big Ten West division. A real example is below:

Odds for these types of markets can move a lot throughout the offseasons and seasons as news breaks and teams play games. Therefore, timing is almost as important as picking the right team in terms of getting the best odds possible.

Prop bets on college football in Iowa

This is an area that Iowa law limits when it comes to college sports. It’s illegal for Iowa sportsbooks to accept prop bets based on individual college athletes’ performances. So, you won’t see betting markets on things like how many passing yards the Hawkeyes quarterback will throw for in a quarter, for example.

Iowa books can take prop bets on team events within a game, however. Examples of that include how many points Iowa will score in the first half, team yardage, etc. Through these team markets, you can still find ways to live bet on Hawkeye football despite the legal restrictions.

Iowa Hawkeyes Football Schedule

A normal schedule for the Hawkeyes is 12 regular-season games, nine of which are Big Ten contests. One of the non-conference games each year for Iowa is against Iowa State, usually the second game of the season for both teams.

Iowa plays every team in the West division. The Hawkeyes always play Nebraska on the day after Thanksgiving, which is usually the final regular-season contest for both teams.

The other three Big Ten dates are filled with East division teams on a rotating basis, so the Hawkeyes play East teams once every three years. Here’s a look at the 2022 Iowa Hawkeyes football schedule. Times and networks could change as the season nears:

• Sept. 3: vs. South Dakota State (11 a.m. on FS1)
• Sept. 1o: vs. Iowa State (3 p.m. on BTN)
• Sept. 17: vs. Nevada (6:30 p.m. on BTN)
• Sept. 24: at Rutgers
• Oct. 1: vs. Michigan
• Oct. 8: at Illinois
• Oct. 15: Open
• Oct. 22: at Ohio State
• Oct. 29: vs. Northwestern (2 p.m.)
• Nov. 5: at Purdue
• Nov. 12: vs. Wisconsin
• Nov. 19: at Minnesota
• Nov. 25: vs. Nebraska (3 p.m. on BTN)
• Dec. 3: Big Ten Championship at Indianapolis

How to Stream and Watch Iowa Football

While the Big Ten has its own network, it does also have deals with Disney and Fox for some games. Thus, which network you can find the Hawkeye game on can shift from one week to the next.

Most cable, live streaming television, and satellite providers offer access to the Big Ten Network, ABC, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU and Fox or FS1/FS2. That’s also the easiest way to stream live games, as subscriptions to those services usually give you access to platforms like BTN2Go, ESPN+, and Fox Sports Go.

If you don’t subscribe to any of those services, you may find it difficult to watch Iowa football games live. BTN2Go may post clips of games for viewing later available to people who simply subscribe to its streaming platform, but that’s probably the best you’ll be able to do.

How Did Iowa Do Last Season?

The 2021 Iowa Hawkeyes peaked at No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, but back-to-back losses cost the Hawkeyes a shot at a College Football Playoff spot. They used an undefeated November to win the Big Ten West outright, however. Iowa lost to Big Ten East champion Michigan 42-3 in the conference title game.

The No. 15 Hawkeyes fell to No. 22 Kentucky 20-17 in the Jan. 1 Vrbo Citrus Bowl in Orlando.

Biggest Rivalry Games for Iowa

Iowa plays in four trophy games over the course of the season. Two of the most passionate games are locked in at opposite ends of the schedule.

Iowa and Iowa State play annually for the Cy-Hawk trophy. The in-state rivalry game usually falls in the second full week of the college football season. Iowa leads the all-time series 46-22 including a 30-14 mark in the “trophy era,” which dates back to 1977. The teams didn’t play from 1935 to the resumption of the series and trophy debut in 1977.

The Hawkeyes face Nebraska each season in the Heroes Game. 2021 marked the 11th annual Heroes Game, which was created to celebrate the rivalry while honoring community heroes in both states. Nebraska leads the all-time series 29-20-3. The Hawkeyes have a 8-3 record in the “Heroes Game” era, including a current seven-game winning streak.

Its placement on the schedule is more random, but one of the nation’s oldest rivalry trophies — Floyd of Rosedale — goes to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game. The Gophers lead the all-time series 62-51-2 over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes have a 43-42-2 edge since Floyd (first a real hog, now a bronze one) was introduced n 1935.

A fourth trophy game also can fall in different parts of the season. Iowa plays Wisconsin annually for a brass bull called the Heartland Trophy. The Badgers lead the series 49-44-2, including a 10-6 record since the trophy was introduced in 2004. Iowa holds three of four rivalry trophies going into the 2022 season.

Iowa Record Over the Past Five Seasons

• 2021: 10-4 overall, 7-3 Big Ten
• 2020: 6-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten
• 2019: 10-3 overall, 6-3 Big Ten
• 2018: 9-4 overall, 5-4 Big Ten
• 2017: 8-5 overall, 4-5 Big Ten

Iowa Player/Team Stats Over the Last Four Seasons

• 2022: 23.4 points per game/19.2 points allowed per game; Passing leader: Spencer Petras, 1,880 yards; Rushing leader: Tyler Goodson, 1,151 yards.
• 2020: 31.8 points per game/16 points allowed per game; Passing leader: Spencer Petras, 1,569 yards; Rushing leader: Tyler Goodson, 762 yards; Receiving leader: Ihmir Smith-Marsette, 345 yards.
• 2019: 25.8 points per game/14 points allowed per game; Passing leader: Nate Stanley, 2,951 yards; Rushing leader: Tyler Goodson, 638 yards; Receiving leader: Ihmir Smith-Marsette, 722 yards.
• 2018: 31.2 points per game/17.8 points allowed per game; Passing leader: Nate Stanley, 2,852 yards; Rushing leader: Mekhi Sargent, 745 yards; Receiving leader: T.J. Hockenson, 760 yards.

Iowa Top NFL Draft Picks

Over the past decade, there have been five drafts in which a Hawkeye went in the first round. That was highlighted by 2019 when two Iowa players went in the first 32 picks of the NFL Draft. Here’s a list of all the first-round picks out of Iowa over the past decade.

• 2021: Tyler Linderbaum, 25th overall — Baltimore Ravens
• 2020: Tristan Wirfs, 13th overall — Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 2019: T.J. Hockenson, 8th overall — Detroit Lions
• 2019: Noah Fant, 20th overall — Denver Broncos
• 2015: Brandon Scherff, 5th overall — Washington Commanders
• 2012: Riley Reiff, 23rd overall — Detroit Lions

Iowa Coaching Staff

The list of Iowa head coaches over the past near half-century is pretty short. In fact, the Hawkeyes have had just two different head coaches since the end of the 1977 season. Those men are:

• Hayden Fry (1978-1998): 143-89-6 overall, 6-7-1 in bowl games
• Kirk Ferentz (1999-present): 178-110 overall, 9-9 in bowl games

History of University of Iowa Football: The Hawkeyes

In the 100+ year history of the Iowa Hawkeyes, the team has finished in the top 25 of the season-ending AP poll on 24 occasions. The first of these seasons occurred in 1939, a season made notable by the fact that halfback Nile Kinnick would win the Heisman Trophy. He was the only player in Hawkeye history to achieve that feat. Sadly, Kinnick would die at the age of 24 during a training flight as part of the US Navy in World War II. The University of Iowa would rename its home “Kinnick Stadium” in 1972, a name that remains to this day.

Perhaps the most successful era for the Hawkeyes came in the 1950s when the team would appear in the top 10 five times. This included a run between 1956 and 1958 when the team would only lose three games. The Hawkeyes earned an NCAA-recognized share of the national championship after the 1958 season when Iowa won the Rose Bowl and finished atop the final Football Writers Association of America poll. LSU earned the AP and UPI nods that year. The ’80s were also a successful decade for the team, with season-end rankings in the top 20 six times (with a single top 10 appearance).

Recent years have been included an Orange Bowl win at the end of the 2009 season. Iowa reached both the Big Ten Championship Game and the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2015 season. Iowa has been invited to bowl games in nine consecutive seasons, with wins in three of their last four appearances. The Hawkeyes finished the most recent season at No. 23 in the Associated Press poll.

Great Games in Hawkeyes History

1959 Rose Bowl — Iowa Hawkeyes 38, California Golden Bears 12

Officially ranked second in the country before the bowl games by the AP poll, the Hawkeyes dominated the Rose Bowl and were named the No. 1 team in the country in the only poll taken after the games (the Football Writers Poll).

1985 — Iowa Hawkeyes 12, Michigan Wolverines 10

Iowa had risen to the No. 1 ranking during the season and faced off against No. 2 Michigan. Trailing by 1 point with seconds to go, a field goal from Rob Houghtlin sealed a famous victory as time ran out.

2016 — Iowa Hawkeyes 14, Michigan 13

Michigan came into the game ranked No. 2 in the country, facing the struggling 5-4 Hawkeyes. Trailing 10-0 in the second quarter, things again looked bleak for the Hawkeyes. However, a rally in the game and another late field goal would see the Hawkeyes cause the upset.

2010 Orange Bowl — Iowa Hawkeyes 24, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 14

No. 10 Iowa earned its first major bowl win in 51 years with a 24-14 victory over No. 9 Georgia Tech to cap the 2009 season. At 49 degrees, the game was balmy by Iowa standards, but that was a record low for the Miami-based bowl. Adrian Clayborn earned the Orange Bowl’s Most Outstanding Player award with a pair of sacks and nine tackles.