Iowa football vs. Washington expert predictions nationally
It’s going to be an early start to the college football weekend for the Iowa football team.
The Hawkeyes are traveling out west for a Friday night matchup with the Washington Huskies. In front of an electric Husky Stadium, these two new Big Ten foes will battle to try to get back into the win column. Washington is off to an 0-2 start in conference play, which includes a 25-21 loss to USC last weekend.
Iowa is 1-1 in Big Ten play. They had the miraculous last-second win over Michigan a few weeks ago, but a disappointing 31-14 loss to Ohio State last weekend. Kirk Ferentz’s team is looking to erase the stench of that performance with a much better showing on Friday night.
Will it be the Hawkeyes that bounce back with a road victory? Or, will Washington enter the Big Ten win column? Here’s a look at the expert predictions for Iowa at Washington:
Iowa vs. Washington expert predictions
Bleacher Report: Washington 23, Iowa 19. David Kenyon of Bleacher Report is picking the home team to win this game. He explained his reasoning:
"Since neither offense has looked all that dangerous, it’ll probably be a low-scoring game in Seattle," Kenyon said. "Those types of matchups tend to hinge on the turnover margin. Washington has already forced nine takeaways this season. Iowa is undoubtedly a threat, but a road setback would be unsurprising."
CBS Sports: The two experts at CBS Sports are split on this game. Brad Crawford is rolling with Washington to win the game 23-20. Chris Hummer is picking Iowa to eke out a 21-20 victory. Here’s what Hummer had to say:
"These are two of the better defenses in the Big Ten," Hummer said. "Both Iowa and Washington are top 31 units nationally, and those defenses have carried both teams early. This game will be decided by which offense can manufacture the most points. Usually, I’d feel good about Washington doing so. After all, the Huskies have Demond Williams Jr. at QB. But he’s really struggled this season and is turning the ball over far too often. Meanwhile, Iowa actually ranks ahead of Washington in yards per play (6.24 vs. 6.04). Iowa is the better team. It might actually have more playmakers."
USA Today: All four experts at USA Today picked Iowa to pick up a huge road victory on Friday. Here’s what Austin Curtwright had to say:
"Washington nearly upset Southern California last week, although I’m not sure either of those teams are particularly good," Curtwright said. "Iowa rebounds from its loss to Ohio State at home last week and beats the Huskies in all three phases on the road, dominating the game more than the score suggests."
College Football News: Washington 20, Iowa 17. Pete Fiutak is rolling with the Huskies in this game. He explained why:
"Washington is way overdue to come up with a terrific performance," Fiutak said. "Yes, Iowa is being a bit overloved thanks to a few good things that went the right way, and while Minnesota beat Washington with a far better game than the final score might indicate, the Huskies lost their two games by a grand total of seven points. Is this when the Huskies finally wake up and play like they’re supposed to, or will they slump after the last two losses? It’ll be a little bit of both, and this week, it’ll be enough to be on the right side of a close win against a good team."
The Sporting News: Iowa 23, Washington 20. Bill Bender of The Sporting News is picking the Hawkeyes to get a win in this game.
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