Nevada Vs Iowa: Game Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction
Nevada will travel to the Midwest to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes.
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The Wolf Pack Headed To Big Ten Country To Face Off Against Iowa.
WEEK 3: Nevada Wolf Pack (2-1) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-1)
WHEN: Saturday, September 17th — 4:30 PM PT/5:30 PM MT
TV: Big Ten Network
STREAMING: The Big Ten Network is on Fubo TV and here is the link where you can start a free trial.
RADIO: Nevada is on ESPN 94.5 in Reno and Iowa is on KRUI 89.7 and on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
SERIES RECORD: This is the first ever meeting between Nevada and Iowa.
WEBSITES: NevadaWolfPack.com, the official Nevada athletics website | HawkeyeSports.com, the official Iowa athletics website.
GAME NOTES (PDF): Nevada | Iowa
ODDS: Iowa (-23)
SP+ PROJECTION: Iowa by 24.6
FEI PROJECTION: Iowa (13.1)
The Nevada Wolf Pack will return to action on Saturday as they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
The Wolf Pack are coming off a poor performance in their last game against Incarnate Word. The Wolf Pack defense struggled to contain Incarnate Word’s offense and the offense could not keep pace with UIW. In the end, Nevada suffered their first loss of the season 55-41 to the Cardinals from UIW.
The Wolf Pack will look to bounce back against an Iowa team coming off a 10-7 loss to their in-state rivals Iowa State. Iowa boasts one of the best defenses and special teams units in the nation while their offense is a problem and by problem I mean horrendous.
Can the Wolf Pack get back on the winning track and score their first ever win against a Big Ten opponent on Saturday?
Here are my three keys and a prediction for Nevada vs Iowa State
Better pass protection for whoever is Nevada’s quarterback
Against Incarnate Word, the Wolf Pack struggled to protect quarterback Nate Cox. The Cardinals sacked Cox six times in the loss to UIW. The Cardinals front seven also applied several hits to Cox as well and disrupted the Nevada offense. Despite Nate Cox putting up good passing numbers, the Wolf Pack offensive line struggled to protect Cox last Saturday.
It won’t be an easy task as the Wolf Pack offensive line faces an Iowa defense that is one of the best in the nation. The Hawkeye defense is giving up an average of 81 rushing yards per game and 135.5 passing yards per game.
Another impressive stat about the Iowa defense is that it is only allowing 6.5 points per game. Through two games, this Iowa defense is once again one of the best in the nation.
For the Wolf Pack to have a chance to defeat Iowa on Saturday, the Wolf Pack must do a better job at pass protection no matter if it is Nate Cox or Shane Illingworth at QB. And also, be able to move the ball and score points against Iowa’s defense.
Clamp Down on Iowa’s Offense
Iowa’s offense in the first two weeks of this season has been for lack of better term, putrid. And I only say putrid is because I don’t want to risk it by saying a curse word to describe Iowa’s offense.
Seriously, Iowa’s offense has been bad so far this season. They did not score a touchdown in their 7-3 win over South Dakota State(the other SDSU) and only put up seven points in their 10-7 loss to Iowa State last Saturday.
In two games, the Iowa Hawkeyes have scored exactly one touchdown and that is putrid. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz announced on Tuesday that he will continue to go with QB Spencer Petras. Petras has struggled at quarterback as he has completed only 45 percent of his passess and thrown two interceptions.
For the Wolf Pack to pull off the upset, the defense must attack Iowa’s struggling offense. Nevada’s defense struggled last week against Incarnate Word as they gave up 616 yards of offense in the loss to the Cardinals. Nevada’s defense must bounce back in a big way this week and must take advantage of a struggling Hawkeye defense.
Return to playing mistake-free football
In Nevada’s two wins, the Wolf Pack forced nine turnovers and did not turn the ball over once. In their loss to Incarnate World, Nevada turned it over twice, struggled to contain UIW’s offense, struggled to protect Nate Cox and committed 10 penalties for 78 yards.
The Wolf Pack are at their best when they are playing a clean, mistake-free brand of football and they went away from that last week. Now on the road against a Power 5 opponent in Iowa, Nevada must play an almost flawless game in order to pull off the road win. It won’t be easy as Iowa is a team that relies on their defense, special teams and playing safe football.
It is going to be a difficult task for a Nevada team coming off a poor performance last week to try to play mistake free football against Iowa. But Nevada must play clean and error free in order to win on Saturday night in Iowa City.
Prediction
In this contest between Nevada and Iowa, the Wolf Pack do have a decent chance to beat the Hawkeyes on Saturday. Iowa is one of the worst offenses in the nation as they have scored only one offensive touchdown after two games.
The Hawkeyes are starting a quarterback in Spencer Petras who has been below average running the Iowa offense. The Wolf Pack defense, coming off a poor performance against Incarnate Word, has the ability to stop the Iowa defense and make it even worse. My money is on Nevada’s defense playing better this week against the Hawkeyes/
But the big question is can Nevada’s offense move the ball and put up points against a stifling Iowa defense? Nevada, with Nate Cox at QB for the full game, did move the ball well and scored points against Incarnate Word. But no matter if it is Cox or Shane Illingworth at QB, it is going to be a tough task to score against an Iowa defense that has given up 6.5 points per game.
And that will be the reason why Nevada will not pull off the upset in Iowa City, Iowa’s defense will be too much for the Wolf Pack offense. The game will be close but in the end, the Hawkeye defense will help Iowa come away with the win.
Score Prediction: Iowa 13 Nevada 10
