Northwestern vs. Iowa betting odds, over-under sets record low at 29.5 points

The line for Iowa at Northwestern opened with an over-under of 29.5 points at Circa Sports, the lowest in modern betting history. The Hawkeyes matchup against Minnesota last week tied the record at 31.5. The under hit with a 12-10 Gophers win. Iowa is a five-point favorite over Northwestern. The Hawkeyes' offense ranks No. 120 (of 133 teams) in the nation in points per game (19.5), while their defense ranks No. 6 (14.5). They have hit the under in four of their last five games.

Iowa mustered just 127 yards of total offense in the loss to Minnesota, its second-lowest total of the season (Penn State, 76 yards). The Hawkeyes' 387 yards against Western Michigan in Week 3 marked a season-high and is the only time the team eclipsed 300 total yards this season.

Sophomore Deacon Hill has quarterbacked the Hawkeyes since Cade McNamara tore his ACL on Sept. 30. He's completed just 37.8% of his passes for 413 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions in four starts and struggled mightily against the Gophers, leading the Iowa offense to 57 total yards on its final 45 plays of the game.

"We have to find answers," head coach Kirk Ferentz said after the game. "[Minnesota] clearly made Deacon uncomfortable, and that led to some bad things for us. We'll have to find a way to protect him a little bit better and get the ball out of his hand a little quicker. He's got some ownership in that, too."

Ferentz said the offense regressed against the Gophers.

"Those are some things we saw back in August, and I thought he had moved past it, but there was a little bit of a revert today," Ferentz said. "So we have to get him back on his feet and playing a little quicker, more decisively. And we'll have to find a way to get the running game going again because that's going to take some pressure off him."

Hill's inefficiency has led some fans to call for backup Joe Labas to take over at quarterback. Labas went 14-of-24 for 139 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions during Iowa's 2022 Music City Bowl win over Kentucky, his lone start. However, Ferentz said he's sticking with Hill.

"I don't think we're insane," Ferentz said. "You go with what you see in practice and try to make the best decisions at all positions, not just quarterback. Obviously, quarterback is the one that attracts the attention. We evaluate everything in practice. We evaluate what happens in the games, and we are going to play the guy that we think is going to give us the best chance, and we've done that at all positions, and we've done that for 25 years."

Despite its offensive woes, Iowa is in a four-way tie atop the Big Ten West standings with four weeks to go in the regular season.