Well, Jim Harbaugh is back at the controls for the Michigan Wolverines, and the players couldn’t be happier. Although we must say that they were able to use his suspension as a rallying point in their drive toward the Big Ten title.

BetOnline customers saw that they accomplished part of this goal by defeating Ohio State last week. And now they have to finish the job in the Big Ten championship game as they face the Iowa Hawkeyes in a game that begins at 8 PM Eastern time at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, to be televised by Fox.

Michigan has now won three straight games against Ohio State, and it was no accident. Quarterback JJ McCarthy has been solid all year long, completing 74% of his passes with 19 touchdowns. He has been intercepted only four times, and there is speculation that he could be a first round draft pick next spring.

Naturally, the Wolverines have a robust running attack, and it’s led by Blake Corum, who has scored 22 touchdowns on the ground.

The story for this game, however, it is going to be defense. That is what has kept Michigan near the top of the polls, and it’s what drove Iowa to a 10–2 record this season. The interesting thing about the Hawkeyes is that, despite the proficiency of their stop unit, the offense has been nothing short of underachieving, and it’s led to some controversy within the program.

Of course, controversy is something that is no stranger to Michigan; Harbaugh had to serve this recent three-game suspension, because the Wolverines are suspected to have violated NCAA rules in videotaping the play signals of other teams, and utilizing that knowledge during games. Now that the “secret“ is out, we’re not expecting this to have any effect on the proceedings.

In the college football betting odds posted on this game by the folks at BetOnline, Michigan is a huge favorite:

Michigan Wolverines -21.5
Iowa Hawkeyes +21.5

Over 35 points -110
Under 35 points -110

Iowa is absolutely impotent on offense, with just 246 yards per game. in fact, it is extremely unusual for a team with ten victories to be outgained by 35 yards a game, but that’s what we have with these Hawkeyes.

Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who was appointed to his position by his father Kirk, the head coach, was told he will not be brought back next season, and that word did not come from his dad; it came from the interim athletic director, who has lost patience in the performance of this Iowa team, and they have also lost some patience with what she perceives as nepotism. Interestingly enough, a lot of the fan base agrees with her. Whether this eventually leads to Kirk Ferentz leaving the program, and perhaps retiring, remains to be seen.

But for Iowa, the defense absolutely works, allowing only 12.2 points per game, which is one of the best figures in the country.

The difficulty for the Hawkeyes here is that Michigan’s defense is just as good if not better. They have permitted about the same amount of yardage, but Michigan is tops in the country, allowing just 10.2 points per contest. And we wonder what Iowa has to really challenge this murderous unit.

Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill has put up numbers that are less than pedestrian, when you consider he’s completed only 48% of his passes for less than five yards per attempt and has only five touchdown passes for the entire campaign. The leading available receiver for the Hawkeyes is Nico Ragaini, who has only 227 yards on the season.

Most likely, the Hawkeyes will have to rely on running back Lashon Williams, who was not a dominant figure on offense, but did record 779 yards. The dilemma with that is that Michigan has allowed only three yards per carry on the season.

Obviously, the oddsmakers have posted a low total here because they trust the Iowa defense, which has allowed only one opponent to get to 20 points this season. However, that was also the only ranked opponent they faced – the Penn State Nittany Lions – who beat them 31-0.

How much can Michigan dent them, and will Iowa score at all? These are pretty legitimate questions to be asking, and that’s quite unusual for a Big Ten championship game. We’re thinking that if Michigan can find its way at all, it should put at least three touchdowns on the board, and in a measured recommendation, we are going to go with them minus the points, and with an UNDER, since we seem to have no luck taking the "over" in Iowa games.

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