If you haven’t heard, sports gambling is now legal in the state of Iowa.
That’s right, now you don’t have to head to Las Vegas or put your credit card information into some off shore sportsbook. You can legally walk into a casino in Iowa and place a bet on college football games.
There are currently several locations offering sports betting, including Prairie Meadows in the Des Moines area, Riverside Casino near Iowa City, the Isle of Capri locations in Waterloo and Bettendorf, and Rhythm City Casino in Davenport. Those the closest locations that many fans might be driving by on their way to Iowa City for the Hawkeyes home opener on Saturday night.
One note, we will be recording our podcast on Thursday night at the Isle of Carpi Casino (William Hill Sportsbook) in Bettendorf starting around 7 pm, so come join us, watch some college football, and maybe win some money betting on games.
All those locations now have some sort of mobile betting that is available either via an app or mobile friendly website. You have to go to the location in-person to sign up and deposit cash into the account, but the process is very simple and quick. Then you could sit in your seat at Kinnick Stadium and bet on games, even during those games with live betting options.
Since sports gambling is now a real part of our daily lives in Iowa, I thought it might be fun during the football season to dispense some “advice”. Now, I’m not encouraging you to take my counsel on your wagering, but simply give you an opinion and we will keep track of how good, or more likely, bad, I am doing this season.
The focus will be primarily on Big Ten games, but I’ll throw in a few other national games that I might like during the week.
A few key terms to learn for the gambling novice.
MONEYLINE BETS – This is simply picking a winner. The moneylines will vary and impact your payout. For example, you will see Iowa -2000 this weekend against Miami, OH. That means you would have to wager $2000 to win $100 on this individual bet.
POINT SPREAD WAGER – This is the one most people are familiar with. Iowa is a 22 point favorite this weekend. That means if you bet on Iowa and they win by 23 points, you cash your ticket. Those wagers are always at -110.
OVER/UNDER WAGER – This is the combined point total for both teams in the game. For example, the over/under for Iowa/Miami, OH this weekend is 48. So you can bet either side at -110.
One piece of advice from a long time gambling friend is that in the first week or two of the college football season, bet mid-level favorites on the ML to build up your bankroll early in the year.
With that established, let’s look at the Big Ten slate for the first weekend of college football.
THURSDAY NIGHT GAME
South Dakota State vs. Minnesota
Minnesota is -14.5 with the over/under at 56 points
On the moneyline: Minnesota -635, South Dakota State +415
South Dakota State is a pretty solid FCS program. They aren’t North Dakota State, but in the neighborhood. This is kind of a stay away for me from a point spread perspective, but if you are going to bet this game, then take the under.
MINNESOTA 27 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 17
FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES
Wisconsin at South Florida
Wisconsin is -12.5 with the over/under at 57
On the moneyline: Wisconsin -475, South Florida +380
Most preseason publications have South Florida as one of the top teams in the AAC this year, but they lost their last six games last season. I think a lot of us, myself included, might be underestimating the Badgers this year because they struggled a bit down the stretch in 2018. I like Wisconsin in this one, probably on the moneyline.
WISCONSIN 31 SOUTH FLORIDA 21
UMass at Rutgers
Rutgers -15.5 with the over/under at 55
On the moneyline: Rutgers -707, UMass +514
It’s not often you see the Scarlet Knights as a double figure favorite. Then you look at UMass with a new coach and they are replacing their three top offensive players. The heat is on Chris Ash. There might not be many wins for Rutgers this year, but this will be one of them. Probably a moneyline bet, but could see points as well if you trust Rutgers.
RUTGERS 34 UMASS 13
Tulsa at Michigan State
Michigan State is -23 with the over/under of 47.5
On the moneyline: MSU -2500, Tulsa +1150
The Golden Hurricanes are 5-19 in the last two years and 3-9 in 2018. Sparty feels like a sleeper in the Big Ten East this season. Their season went sideways last year due to an injury to quarterback Brian Lewerke. While the defense was great, the offense wasn’t. Sparty should breeze to an opening blowout victory.
MICHIGAN STATE 34 TULSA 7
Purdue at Nevada
Purdue is -11 with the over/under at 59
On the moneyline: Purdue -450, Nevada +350
The Wolf Pack are coached by former Hawkeye Jay Norvell. Last season they were 8-5, including a bowl win. They are a pretty good home team, but will be breaking in a new quarterback. Purdue is one of the more explosive Big Ten teams and we know Jeff Brohm will stretch the field. That means expect some scoring in Reno on Friday night. I'd lean over and maybe moneyline with the Boilers.
PURDUE 38 NEVADA 24
SATURDAY GAMES
Ball State vs. Indiana (at Indianapolis)
Indiana is -17 with the over/under at 60
On the moneyline: Indiana -950, Ball State +625
The Cardinals are a bit of a mess right now. They are predicted near the bottom of the MAC this year and they lost a couple of key players on offense to transfer. They also struggle to stop the run. Could be a big game for Indiana, particularly on the ground.I might go under as the best bet here.
INDIANA 35 BALL STATE 14
Akron at Illinois
Illinois is -17.5 with the over/under at 61
On the moneyline: Illinois -950, Akron +635
The Zips have a new head coach, which means a new system on both sides of the ball. They are going to struggle in a big way this year. Speaking of struggling, the Illini are looking to turn the corner in 2019. They have a new quarterback in Michigan transfer Brandon Peters and Lovie Smith has more offensive weapons. I think the Illini cruise in this one.Take the Illini to cover at your own peril, but maybe throw them in a moneyline parlay.
ILLINOIS 38 AKRON 17
Florida Atlantic at Ohio State
Ohio State is -27.5 with the over/under at 63.5
On the moneyline: OSU -4500, Florida Atlantic +2000
Lane Kiffin is already talking trash heading into the first official game of the Ryan Day era in Columbus. The Lane Train always seems to find a way to put up a good number of points, but he lost quite a bit of offensive talent after last season. How good is Justin Fields? That’s the big question for the Buckeyes. I kind of need to see Ohio State before I would play points, but I think the play here is the moneyline.
OHIO STATE 48 FLORIDA ATLANTIC 20
Howard at Maryland
Maryland is -29.5 with the over/under at 65.5
On the moneyline: Maryland -9200, Howard +2750
Howard is an FCS school, but they have some really good offensive weapons at their disposal. They are also a middle of the pack MEAC school at the FCS level, so keep that in mind. This will be the first game of the Mike Locksley era in College Park and you can bet he wants to score some points with Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson running the show.Not sure I want any part of this game.
MARYLAND 49 HOWARD 21
South Alabama at Nebraska
Nebraska is -36 with the over/under at 64.5
On the moneyline: Nebraska -13500, South Alabama +5500
The Jaguars were 3-9 last season and they gave up nearly 40 points per game. They have a lot of question marks, starting at quarterback. Meanwhile, you know Scott Frost is going to want to run it up in Lincoln to continue the hype that is surrounding the Husker program heading into this season.Give the over a serious look.
NEBRASKA 52 SOUTH ALABAMA 14
Idaho at Penn State
Penn State is -39.5 with the over/under at 58.5
On the moneyline: Not available.
Idaho was 4-7 last year. Basically that means they are not good and they are predicted to be in the bottom half of the Big Sky (FCS level). James Franklin has never been shy about running it up on an opponent and not letting up on the gas. That’s bad news for the Vandals.
PENN STATE 56 IDAHO 13
Northwestern at Stanford
Stanford is -6.5 with the over/under at 47.5
On the moneyline: Stanford -240, Northwestern +200
Easily the best Big Ten game in the opening weekend. Two high academic schools going head to head and both always have a chip on their shoulder. Who will quarterback the Wildcats? This one feels like points will be at a premium in a defensive struggle. If you want to have some fun, play Northwestern ML.
STANFORD 17 NORTHWESTERN 16
Middle Tennessee at Michigan
Michigan is -34 with the over/under at 54
On the moneyline: Michigan -15000, MTSU +3000
What the line tells you is there might not be a lot of points from Middle Tennessee, who travels to Iowa later in September. I think Middle Tennessee is pretty decent, but they are replacing their quarterback. The intrigue in this opener is Michigan’s new spread offense and how well it will work. Might be some growing pains early on. Probably a stay away for me.
MICHIGAN 37 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 10
Miami, OH at Iowa
Iowa is -22 with the over/under at 48
On the moneyline: Iowa -2000, Miami, OH +1000
I’ll have my prediction on Friday morning, but Miami, OH might play three quarterbacks. That’s playing right into Phil Parker’s hands. Expect Iowa to cover the 22, but the best bet is probably the under, which has been dropping.
Couple of other games I like:
Army -22 over Rice (under 48 is a play there as well)
Notre Dame -20 over Louisville
Iowa State -18.5 over UNI
