The Iowa Hawkeyes look for their fourth win in five games as they travel west to face the UCLA Bruins on Friday night. Iowa (6-3 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) crushed Wisconsin, 42-10, last Saturday, while UCLA (3-5, 2-4) stunned Nebraska, 27-20. This is the teams’ first meeting since the 1986 Rose Bowl, a 45-28 Bruins victory. Iowa is 5-4 against the spread, while UCLA is 5-2-1 ATS in 2024. Eight of Iowa’s nine games have hit the Over this season.
Kickoff from the Rose Bowl is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. After opening at -5.5, the Hawkeyes are now 6.5-point favorites in the latest Iowa vs. UCLA odds via SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 44.5, down a point from the opener. Before making any UCLA vs. Iowa picks, be sure to check out the college football predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and it is a sizzling 18-9 on all top-rated picks over the past six weeks of this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen strong returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Iowa vs. UCLA and has locked in its picks and CFB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are the college football odds for UCLA vs. Iowa:
- Iowa vs. UCLA spread: Iowa -6.5
- Iowa vs. UCLA over/under: 44.5 points
- Iowa vs. UCLA money line: Iowa -249, UCLA +198
- Iowa vs. UCLA picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Iowa vs. UCLA streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Iowa can cover
The Hawkeyes have beaten Northwestern and Wisconsin in their last two games by a combined score of 82-24 and seem to be peaking heading into this week’s game at the Rose Bowl. Against Wisconsin, running back Kaleb Johnson dominated, rushing 24 times for 135 yards and three touchdowns. Iowa’s star runner is second in the country with 1,279 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns, having rushed for 100 or more yards seven times this season. He’s a longshot in the Heisman odds at +20000, but has a chance to move up with some strong late-season performances.
With quarterback Cade McNamara once again out with a concussion, the Hawkeyes will have to lean on their ground game which ranks 10th nationally (222.4 yards per game). However, the UCLA defense is fairly stout against the run (100.4 yards per game allowed), though they have struggled against the pass. The Bruins are allowing an average of 261.3 yards passing, which ranks second worst in the conference. Backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan may be asked to do more than he has in recent weeks against UCLA’s weakness. See which team to pick here.
Why UCLA can cover
UCLA has turned things around of late, having won its last two games on the road after losing at home to Minnesota in the game’s final minute. The Bruins faced four top-15 teams in a row earlier this year and have shown some fight for coach Deshaun Foster against weaker competition. In the team’s two most recent games, both victories, quarterback Ethan Garbers has thrown for 602 yards combined with six touchdown passes and zero interceptions.
On the season, Garbers has 1,703 yards passing and 10 scores against nine interceptions. The Bruins don’t have a running back over 250 yards rushing and only one receiver over 300 yards through the air, so it’s likely they will have to move the ball via slow methodical drives against the Hawkeyes’ defense. In what should be a spirited Friday night affair, UCLA will seek its third straight upset win and its first victory at the Rose Bowl in 2024. See which team to pick here.
How to make Iowa vs. UCLA picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 44 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. You can only get the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins UCLA vs. Iowa, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced computer model that’s up well over $2,000 on its college football picks since inception, and find out.
