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The most important game of the 2026 Iowa football season kicks off in exactly one day from now. 

For the first time in seven years, the No. 17 Hawkeyes (3-0) are packing their bags for a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines (3-0) on Saturday afternoon (2:30 CT, CBS). 

We began our weekly prediction Friday with our score prediction for this Big Ten opener, and now it's time to conclude the day by turning our attention towards the sportsbooks. You've already scanned our betting guide to find out some of the most intriguing betting lines of Week 4, but this article is going to be our betting prediction for the Iowa-Michigan game. 

Here we go. 

*All betting lines courtesy of DraftKings and as of Sept. 24. Call 1-800-BETS OFF if you live in Iowa (1-800-MY-RESET is the national line) and are struggling with gambling. 

Iowa +5.5 

Again, my score prediction always gives these picks away before I get a chance to sit down and write this article, but it's still an interesting exercise to perform each week. I thought this spread would stay at Michigan -4.5, but I was shocked to see it move up to -5.5 on Thursday morning. Maybe Vegas knows something we don't, but give me Iowa to cover this spread. 

Under 38.5 

Maybe these two teams surprise us and put some points on the board, but I just don't see this game going over despite this low total. Both defenses are going to try and dictate this game – whether it'd be Iowa forcing Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood into small passing windows, or the Wolverines confusing Hawkeye quarterback Hank Brown at the line of scrimmage – and that's not a problem for Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz or Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham. Both of them have been around the game a long time and are very comfortable with a rock fight. 

Other Plays 

Iowa -185 to get 275+ total yards: I'm not betting on this game, but if I was in the market to make some money, I would probably lean towards this number here. The Hawkeyes tallied 284 total yards of offense against Iowa State and it's a safe bet to assume they'll post a similar figure in this one. 

Iowa -110 to score under 16.5 points: Again, if you've read my score prediction you'll know that I'm already picking this to happen, but this article is about why I think these things will happen. Iowa's offense is better equipped to weather whatever storm Michigan's defense is going to bring, but this is just a difficult spot for this young Hawkeye team. Hank Brown may struggle to find a groove until it's too late, and I just don't see Iowa being able to run the football very well. They'll take advantage of a few short fields to get points, but it's going to be hard for the Hawkeyes to sustain drives against a talented Wolverine defense.

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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