The Iowa Hawkeyes are heading back to Indianapolis.
On Friday, the Hawkeyes were able to come back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Nebraska inside Memorial Stadium to improve its regular-season record to 10-2. On Saturday, Wisconsin fell to Minnesota in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Badgers’ loss pushed the Hawkeyes to the Big Ten West title and a spot in the Big Ten Championship next Saturday against Michigan. The Wolverines are 11-1 on the season and are coming off a victory over No. 2 Ohio State at home on Saturday.
According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Wolverines are listed as 10.5 point favorites over Iowa. The point total is set at 44.5.
For Iowa fans unfamiliar with Michigan, here is a look at the Wolverines.
One of the big questions for Iowa this week will be the quarterback position. Alex Padilla rolled out as the starter for Iowa against Nebraska. He had started the previous two games for the Hawkeyes, including most of the win against Northwestern. Padilla struggled in the first half against the Huskers and then was replaced by former starting quarterback Spencer Petras.
Petras wasn’t overly efficient, but his play helped give Iowa more momentum on the offensive end and resulted in a Hawkeyes’ victory, thanks to the play of the defense and special teams as well.
Petras said after the game that both he and Padilla were dealing with the flu bug during the week and that played a role in Iowa’s decision to switch quarterbacks.
“Alex and I both had the flu this week,” Petras said. “A lot of our team has, so preparation wise it was kind of tough. He wasn’t doing his best and he’s still dealing with the illness. We needed to go in a different direction, similar to what happened against Northwestern, my shoulder was jacked up. Couldn’t do it and that’s just the way it is. Next guy in and we got the win.”
Michigan has had quite the turnaround in the last year. Following last season’s 2-4 showing, there was a lot of controversy about whether or not the Wolverines would keep head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Michigan decided to stick with Harbaugh and the Wolverines have since turned things around as they’re now likely a Big Ten Championship away from clinching a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The last time these two teams met was in 2019 in Ann Arbor. The Michigan pass rush and overall defense gave Iowa troubles all day long and the Wolverines were able to pull out a 10-3 victory.
Dating back to 2009, Iowa has won five of the seven meetings between these two programs. The lone Michigan wins were in Ann Arbor in 2019 and 2012.
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