Conference championship weekend is upon us, and no matchup appears more lopsided on paper than the Michigan Wolverines vs. Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten Championship game. When these two teams faced off in the Big Ten
Championship game back in 2021, Iowa supporters won’t be too fond of the outcome. They were defeated by Michigan 42–3 in the end. In their previous season encounter, Iowa was the more competitive team, but they ultimately lost 27–13.
It’s possible that the competition in this game is higher. Iowa is still 10-2 on the year, despite the fact that this season has been a gold mine for underdog bettors. With a 12-0 record, Michigan must win this game in order to guarantee their place in the College Football Playoffs. Iowa’s chances of making the College Football Playoffs are gone, but a victory would guarantee them a Rose Bowl berth, which would mean a great deal to them and their supporters. For both sides, this is an important game. This is a big enough game to warrant some audacious guesses.
Over the past three weeks, JJ McCarthy hasn’t had a lot on his plate. McCarthy has only attempted 51 passes during that time. He hasn’t needed to, in part, but Michigan’s rushing attack was so effective in their victories over Penn State and Ohio State that Michigan was able to ride it all the way to victory. In the whole month of November, McCarthy managed just one touchdown.
However, that might alter this week. Cooper DeJean, Iowa’s standout cornerback, was lost for the remainder of the season a few weeks ago. Despite their strong defensive play, Iowa has not encountered many dangerous aerial assaults this season. They did play against Penn State, and they had one successful passing attack. The starting quarterback for Penn State, Drew Allar, went off against the Hawkeyes, throwing touchdown after touchdown. Even though Allar only gained 166 yards on 25-37 passing in the end of that game, he still managed four touchdown
passes.
JJ McCarthy might go on an identical kind of excursion. McCarthy is averaging a strong 9.66 yards per attempt this season and is finishing 74.3% of his passes. His season QBR of 90.8 is third only to Heisman Trophy contenders Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. Michigan’s strong ground game has overshadowed McCarthy’s excellent season. This week against Iowa, his play might be more evident.
