The Iowa Hawkeyes kick-off their 2018 season this Saturday in Iowa City! Iowa will be hosting Northern Illinois starting at 2:30 from Kinnick Stadium. The game will be televised nationally by the Big Ten Network.

According to local bookie "Jimmy Envelope," the Hawks are a 9 point favorite. Jimmy tells me 85% of his customer base is betting Iowa minus the 9 points. He told me earlier today, "I want Iowa to win the game, I just hope the score is 28-20."

If you ask me, this spread should be a little higher....more like Iowa minus 12 or 13. Northern Illinois is 1-5 against the spread in its last 6 games. The Huskies lost a couple of key players on defense and Nate Stanley will command the offense from the start of this game. I think this will look easy for the Hawks in week #1.

My prediction is that Iowa will win  35-10. When I told that to Jimmy, he shook his head and said, "I sure hope you're wrong, buddy."

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