This is an 8* BLOWOUT on Iowa.

While I obviously think that the outright win isn't out of the question in this one, I will in the end recommend grabbing as many points as you can as I expect Iowa to at the very least sneak in through the back door down the stretch with the handful of points it's been afforded. I think Tennessee is just happy to be here as it finally ended a three-season bowl drought. Iowa finished 7-5 and will be looking to take out its frustrations as it reflects on what could have been. The Hawkeyes had a very favorable schedule which included a home game vs. their only ranked opponent and lineups full of returning players on both sides of the ball including their QB and top RB and WR, but the team would finish a disappointing fourth in its division: "I'm not sure unacceptable would the word I would use," assessed Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz (who is 6-5 in bowl games, including 4-2 against current SEC teams). "We're disappointed, certainly, with the outcome of the last two ball games." This sounds like a team ready to lay a beating on anyone it can find. And that would be Tennessee, a team which returns to the postseason for the first time since a 30-27 double overtime loss to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl (note that the Vols haven't won a Bowl game since 2007): "It's hard not to be satisfied with that because that was our goal, to be in a bowl game," Vols offensive lineman Kyler Kerbyson said earlier in the week. That sounds like someone who is completely satisfied just being where he is. Normally I don't take ATS trends too much into account when playing Bowl Games, however I think it's definitely important to note that Iowa is 5-1 ATS the last two years when playing with two weeks or more of rest, while Tennessee is just 7-11 ATS in the same time frame when playing the role of favorite. In my opinion, all signs do indeed point to the HAWKEYES as the savvy move in this one.

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