Rutgers vs. Iowa Week 11 Big Ten football odds: Another week, another record low total for a Hawkeyes game

This writer never thought he would see a college football total as low as 27, but we are inching closer to that number every week that offensively-challenged Iowa takes the field. The Hawkeyes host Rutgers for a Big Ten matchup on Saturday and the opening total on the SportsLine consensus is a miniscule 28.5 points, the lowest in modern history.

A few weeks ago, Iowa's opening total of 32.5 against Minnesota was the lowest of the season. It closed at 30.5, and the Golden Gophers won 12-10 in Iowa City. Last Saturday's game against Northwestern at Wrigley Field in Chicago opened at 29.5 and closed at 32 with Iowa winning 10-7 to stay atop the Big Ten West Division. Coach Kirk Ferentz's club is a game up on Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska despite averaging just 18.4 points per game on offense this season.

This will be the fifth FBS game since 2006 to close with a total of 32 or fewer and the Over hit just once in the previous four, when Army beat Navy 20-17 in double overtime last December with a total of 32.5. There were only 20 regulation points scored, so that should have landed Under. Three of those four games were decided by three points or fewer.

Iowa is winning with defense like it always does. Last year, linebacker Jack Campbell won the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker and went on to be a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions. This week, senior Jay Higgins was named a semifinalist for the 2023 Butkus Award. Higgins leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally at 12.6 tackles per game (the most by a Power 5 player). Junior Cooper DeJean is a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, awarded to the nation's best defensive back.

The Hawkeyes rank fourth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 13.7 points per game. They're fifth in passing efficiency defense (101.73), sixth in red zone defense (.682), 13th in passing yards allowed (177.2), 17th in total defense (298.7) and 20th in third down defense (.318). Iowa has allowed one touchdown over the last 12 quarters and three touchdowns over the past 20 quarters. The defense has allowed just one rushing TD all year.

Ferentz's club also has won 15 of its last 16 games in the month of November. It is 3-0 all-time vs. Rutgers. During the lone meeting in Kinnick Stadium in 2019, Iowa allowed just five first downs, 47 passing yards and 125 yards of total offense in a 30-0 win. Last year, Iowa won 27-10 in New Jersey.

Rutgers (6-3) is bowl eligible and has three Big Ten wins, matching the program high previously set in 2014, 2017 and 2020. It ranks sixth nationally in passing defense (159.9), 10th in total defense (282.4), 14th in red zone defense (0.731), 20th in scoring defense (17.9), 21st in fumbles recovered (7) and 33rd in rushing defense (122.6).

The Scarlet Knights are also the most improved team in the Big Ten in total offense (+48.8) and scoring offense (+9.4) compared to 2022. Rutgers has four games with more than 250 rushing yards this season, matching the number of such games in the previous six seasons combined (70 games).

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