Iowa vs. Michigan: Top Defenses Lead to Lowest Big Ten Total in Week 4

If you are big into offensive shootouts, then Saturday's CBS Sports college football game of the week from the Big Ten probably isn't for you as No. 17 Iowa visits No. 18 Michigan in the conference opener for both. Both have been spectacular defensively in the early going, which is why there is a total of just 38.5 for the 3:30 ET kick – by far the lowest total on the Week 4 board. Nothing else is below 43.5. Bet on college football at DraftKings, where new users get $200 when they spend $5+:

We are now officially into autumn, and it looks like fall weather in Ann Arbor on Saturday via weather.com: Sunny skies. High 71F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. At DraftKings , Iowa at +5.5 is taking 98% of handle and 87% of bets, while the total is taking solid Over action.

You can try  college football betting  on the  best sports betting apps , but first you should check out the  SportsLine Projection Model  for picks on games from both the simulations and our  experts . We have a strong play here for those who want to get into  parlay betting  for Iowa vs. Michigan .

Iowa-Michigan same-game parlay

- Wolverines money line - Alt Under 45.5

DrafKings price: +106 (subject to change)

This will mark the first meeting as Big Ten foes between Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and first-year Michigan counterpart Kyle Whittingham, formerly of Utah . They rank 1-2 in games among active FBS head coaches, with Ferentz at 344 and Whittingham at 267. This will be the first college football game between the top two active head coaches in games coached since the 2006 Orange Bowl between Joe Paterno's Penn State and Bobby Bowden's Florida State .

It's the first Big Ten game between coaches with at least 250 games coached since 2000 between Paterno's Nittany Lions and John Cooper 's Ohio State Buckeyes . Ferentz also leads active coaches in wins with 216, while Whittingham is third with 180.

Both these programs still prefer to win the old-school way: Ball-control offense and good defense. In the past five seasons, Iowa ranks No. 2 in FBS in points per game allowed (14.9) and yards allowed per game (281.9), while Michigan is third in PPG (16.3) and YPG (287.1).

Iowa currently ranks No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (4.3 PPG) and total defense (176.7 YPG), but also has played a weak schedule, with the only power opponent a rebuilding Iowa State program. That was a 16-13 Hawkeyes escape. Otherwise, they blanked Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa . It's the first time since 1946 that Iowa has shut out two of its first three foes. Michigan is allowing 13.0 PPG and 220.0 YPG but has played at least two good opponents in Western Michigan and ranked Oklahoma .

These are also the only two power conference schools with 50% of their total offense coming from the ground game the past five seasons. Bit of a difference so far in 2026. Led by senior Kamari Moulton (26-240-2), the Hawkeyes are averaging 268.0 rushing yards this year, seventh among power four schools. They had three 100-yard rushers in a game last week for the first time since 1983 – Moulton missed it injured but is probable Saturday.

In addition, first-time starting QB Hank Brown was 12-for-12 for 152 yards and two scores in a 55-0 rout of Northern Iowa.  He became the first Big Ten QB to complete 100% of his passes and throw for at least 150 yards in a game since 2002. But Brown is being treated very carefully. He is 2-for-9 on passes that have traveled more than 16 air yards but is 19-for-19 on passes that have been thrown within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage and between the numbers. Brown has made five career collegiate starts and still not taken a sack.

Bet on college football futures using the latest FanDuel promo code for up to $250 in bonus bets:

Michigan is only at 147.7 rush yards per, which is 51st among power schools. There was some noise about possibly benching highly touted sophomore QB Bryce Underwood after a very rough season debut in the escape vs. WMU, but he looked significantly better in last week's blowout of UTEP . Underwood is still only 2-for-11 on passes farther than 20 air yards this year. Of course, one of the completions was the Hail Mary in Week 1 vs. Western. Don't get me started.

The Wolverines are 54-4 in their past 58 Big Ten openers and have won six straight. But UM is on a four-game losing streak overall in AP ranked-on-ranked matchup, with the last such win in 2024 vs. Southern Cal. A fifth straight such loss would tie the longest streaks in school history, set in 1987-88 and 2006-11.

UM is 36-3 at home since 2021 and all three losses were to AP Top 3 foes. Saturday marks the first meeting between the schools in Ann Arbor since 2019. Michigan has won the past four in the series by a combined margin of 105-20 with two of those in Big Ten Championship Games (2021 & '23). It's the 15th all-time meeting with both ranked.

Iowa has lost nine straight games vs. ranked Big Ten teams, tied for the second-longest skid in school history. The Hawkeyes are being outscored by an average of 31.0-9.6 in those. They haven't won a road game vs. any ranked foe since 2021 at Iowa State.

Use the latest BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get up to $1,500 in bonus bets when you bet on college football:

Hoping to carry over last week's momentum, when I was 2-0 on college football parlays in this space (Syracuse-Pitt, LSU-Ole Miss). Like most seasons, I believe Iowa is overrated thanks to a soft non-conference schedule and will get its comeuppance Saturday in the Big House. The total was the highest I could go and keep a plus-money number. The model has UM winning 21-20.  Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter .

Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/iowa-vs-michigan-big-ten-cfb-odds-two-of-nations-top-defenses-equals-lowest-betting-total-by-far-in-week-4/)._