Ranked opponents looking to finish the season strong meet when the 15th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes face the 22nd-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. The Hawkeyes (10-3) won the Big Ten West Division at 7-2, while the Wildcats (9-3) were second in the SEC East Division at 5-3. This will be the first meeting between the teams. Kickoff from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla., is set for 1 p.m. ET.

The Wildcats are 3.5-point favorites in the latest Iowa vs. Kentucky odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 44. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before making any Iowa vs. Kentucky picks or college football predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also entered the third week of the 2021-22 college football bowl season on a 43-30 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model knows Kentucky is led by junior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., who rushed for 1,272 yards on 205 carries (6.2 average) and eight touchdowns. Rodriguez, who is on both the Maxwell Award watch list and the Doak Walker Award watch list, earned first-team All-SEC honors from The Associated Press and USA Today Network. He ranks sixth in the SEC in all-purpose yards per game at 110.67, and became the 10th player in school history to surpass 2,000 career rushing yards. Rodriguez has 2,633 career rushing yards, which ranks seventh on Kentucky's career rushing list.

The model also knows the Hawkeyes already have three wins over ranked opponents this season. Junior quarterback Spencer Petras powers the offense. He led the team by completing 146 of 258 passes (56.6 percent) for 1,669 yards and nine touchdowns. He was picked off six times, but had a rating of 117.8. He also rushed for five touchdowns. Petras has started 18 of 24 career games he has played in, compiling a 13-5 record and passing for 3,263 career yards, 13th all-time.

Now the model has simulated Iowa vs. Kentucky 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time. You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins the Iowa vs. Kentucky matchup in Saturday's Citrus Bowl? And which side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Iowa vs. Kentucky spread you need to jump on New Year's Day, all from the computer model on a 43-30 run on its top-rated college football side picks!