Iowa football vs. Ohio State expert predictions nationally

In just a few hours, the Iowa football program will take the field for its biggest game of the season.

Inside a sold-out Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes will welcome sixth-ranked Ohio State to town. The Buckeyes enter this matchup with a 3-1 record, fresh off a dominant win over Illinois. Their only blemish came at the hands of Texas in a wild Week 2 game in Austin. Ryan Day has a roster filled to the brim with elite talent that can't afford another loss this early in the season.

The Hawkeyes stunned the college football world last weekend with a walk-off touchdown to beat Michigan. It wasn't the prettiest game for Iowa, but in typical Kirk Ferentz fashion, they found a way to get a victory. Now they'll look to quickly turn the page to the Buckeyes. The Hawkeyes will need to play much better than they did last weekend to get a win on Saturday.

With ESPN's "College GameDay" in town, the atmosphere in Iowa City should be electric for this one. Who do the experts have coming out on top? Does Ohio State claim a big road victory? Or will Iowa defend home field and pick up another huge win? Here's a look at the expert predictions for Iowa vs. Ohio State.

Iowa vs. Ohio State expert predictions

College Football News: Ohio State 27, Iowa 16. Pete Fiutak of College Football News is rolling with Ohio State to get a win in this game. Here's what he had to say about the game:

"Quarterback Hank Brown and the Iowa offense will open it up a little bit, but the Ohio State defense has been good, just not the killer of the past few seasons, will flex a little muscle here," Fiutak said. "It’ll be a smart performance by the Buckeye offense, but it’ll bog down a bit with the ground game not doing enough to carry the load. As always with Iowa, it’ll be a close, low-scoring game deep into the second half, but the Ohio State talent will come through in the final ten minutes."

Fox Sports: All four experts at Fox Sports are rolling with the visiting Buckeyes to win.

Bleacher Report: Ohio State 30, Iowa 13. David Kenyon is picking Ohio State to pick up a big win on Saturday. He explained his reasoning:

"Despite Iowa dominating the all-time series, Ohio State certainly hasn't forgotten a shocking 55-24 loss at Kinnick Stadium in 2017," Kenyon said. "There shouldn't be a repeat. Ohio State should be able to silence Iowa's offense. However, any trip to Iowa City deserves a mountain of respect."

Athlon Sports: Ohio State 30, Iowa 20. Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports is rolling with Ohio State in this game. He explained why:

"Controlling the pace and making this an ugly game is the best shot for the Hawkeyes to pull off the upset," Lassan said. "Iowa will win some battles up front on both sides of the ball, but quarterback Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith are eventually too much in the second half."

CBS Sports: Eight of the nine experts at CBS Sports picked Ohio State to win this game. John Talty was the only expert to roll with the Hawkeyes.

The Sporting News: Ohio State 34, Iowa 19. Bill Bender picked Ohio State to win this game. He gave his reasoning:

"Iowa will be a trendy underdog pick here," Bender said. "The Buckeyes, however, present a different challenge in the passing game with Jeremiah Smith, who has 617 receiving yards and seven TDs. The Buckeyes have allowed 171.5 rushing yards per game to Power 4 opponents, which could allow the Hawkeyes to hang around at home."

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football vs. Ohio State expert predictions nationally