2021 Rose Bowl – Kentucky vs Iowa
posted December 30
The Game
SEC vs Big Ten action, yo.
The Iowa Hawkeyes SOMEHOW, SOME WAY managed to win the Big Ten West and snag a berth in the Big Ten Championship. Sadly, they took it PULP FICTION GIMP STYLE in a loss to Michigan (L 42-3). They’ll be looking for REDEMPTION in this one and face a scrappy Kentucky squad who’s booked nine wins and is almost always a sure bet to play like their hair is on fire.
Citrus Bowl action, buh buh. Let’s gooooooooooooooooo !
The Details
Kentucky -3 Iowa (44)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Kentucky -1
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Kentucky 23.5 Iowa 20.5
Kentucky offense vs Iowa defense
The Cats BUTTER THEIR BREAD with a potent ground attack that averages 206 YPG (#24 FBS). RB C Rodriguez does a great job when not fumbling every 3rd carry (1272, 8 TD) and QB W Levis is sneaky good with his legs (387, 9 TD). Iowa is excellent vs the run (#13 FBS, 114 YPG) but in 2L4G they allowed 189 rush yards to the Gophers and 211 yards to Michigan. Levis has his moments in the THROW GAME but makes too many mistakes (23-12 TD to INT) and he’ll be without two weapons in #2 WR J Ali and TE I Epps. WR W Robinson is one of the most potent weapons in the SEC (94, 1164, 7 TD) and will be the primary focus of the Iowa pass D. The Hawkeyes are #4 in the nation in pass eff D and are #1 (!) in the FBS with 24 INTs.
Iowa offense vs Kentucky defense
Yuck. The offense had been described as a steaming pile of BUFFALO DUNG before BUFFALO DUNG ACTIVISTS complained about said dung being unfairly portrayed. They probably have the worst offense of any team that’s ever won a division title (#111, #110) and will be without their best offensive player in RB T Goodson (1151 rush yds, 31 receptions). They have a mediocre 11-8 TD to INT mark between the two QBs and their best THROW GAME target is TE M LePorta (46, 548, 2 TD). There’s not much to write home about in the WR room. Kentucky is nothing special on D but good enough to hold Iowa in check (#4 SEC total defense).
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Kentucky HC Mark Stoops is 3-2 in bowl games and note that they’ve won three straight…..by a combined 12 points…..but wins are wins buh, buh…..Iowa HC K Ferentz is 9-8 in bowl action and the Hawkeyes have also won three straight…..Last year’s Music City Bowl was cancelled due to the TRUST THE SCIENCE scamdemic which is still HERDING SHEEP as we approach press time.
Summary
It’s REALLY hard to make a case for Iowa. Having said that, they’re REALLY good at taking the ball away (30 takeaways, #4 FBS) and the Cats are (-13) in turnover margin (#127). Have the think that Iowa is gonna have a tough time generating much offense at all.
Conclusion
Lean – Kentucky -3
Note:
‘Official play’ implies we have played the game for our standard wager amount.
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game if you want to get down on some sweet action.
‘No leanage’ implies we won’t be involved in the game from a betting standpoint. In-game wagering possibilities only.