FedEx Orange Bowl – #10 Iowa vs. #9 Georgia Tech

NCAA football betting action enters its final few games of the season, beginning on Tuesday night with the Orange Bowl between the Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2, 7-4 ATS) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-2, 8-4 ATS). The Hawkeyes reached this game as an at-large selection to the BCS. However, HC Kirk Ferentz and the crew still have to be smarting from their loss to Ohio State that sent them to the Orange Bowl as opposed to the Rose Bowl. Georgia Tech narrowly won the ACC, clinching up their spot in the BCS.

The college football betting line of Georgia Tech (-5.5) and a ‘total’ of 50 can be found right now at BetOnline Sportsbook.

The Hawkeyes were legitimately a National Championship contender until QB Ricky Stanzi got hurt in the Northwestern game. The offense just sputtered terribly under the direction of backup QB James Vandenberg to the tune of just three offensive touchdowns in approximately two and a half games of action. It was the defense that led Iowa to this point in the season though, and if it is to win the Orange Bowl, it will be that defense that has to lead the way once again.

The unit averaged allowing just 15.5 points and 286.7 yards per game on the season. Eight of its 12 foes were held to 17 points or less in 2009, including keeping Penn State to ten points in Happy Valley, Wisconsin to ten points in Camp Randall, and Michigan State to 13 points in East Lansing. The Hawkeyes won’t be daunted facing Georgia Tech’s high-octane rushing attack, as it ranked 30th in the nation, allowing just 122.0 yards per game.

HC Paul Johnson doesn’t make any bones about what he’s trying to do on the offensive side of the ball. QB Josh Nesbitt and RB Jonathan Dwyer are going to carry the football and carry it a lot. Only Nevada posted more rushing yards per game in ’09 than Georgia Tech did, as the Ramblin’ Wreck mustered 307.2 yards per game on the ground.

Even though this defense had some holes in it, when push came to shove, the Jackets always seemed to make the critical stop to help put teams away when it mattered most. G-Tech covered six straight games from September 26th through October 31st, one of the longest streaks of beating the football lines in the country all season long.

Defense should be the name of the game in this one. The Hawkeyes have played to a sparkling 13-3-1 record for ‘under’ bettors in their L/17 non-conference games, while the ‘under’ is 4-1-1 in Georgia Tech’s L/6 games against teams with a winning record. The field in Miami has taken a pounding of late with a ton of games and from Mother Nature, and that could slow down these teams as well. Asking both teams to get into at least the mid-20s is a tall task.

Rose’s Recommendation: 2* Iowa/Georgia Tech Under
Rating Scale 1* – 5*