Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 10/24/2026

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, October 24, 2026

Venue:  Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN

Where to Watch:  FS1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Iowa -5.5, Minnesota +5.5; Over/Under:  41.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Iowa -6.5, Minnesota +6.5; Over/Under:  40.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Iowa -6.5, Minnesota +6.5; Over/Under:  40.5 points

Iowa Hawkeyes:  5-1 (2-1) (5th place, Big Ten)

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  4-2 (2-1) (7th place, Big Ten)

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Iowa Hawkeyes:  won their last game on the road against the Washington Huskies 41-24.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  lost their last game on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers 41-13.

Iowa is entering this game with a 5-1 record overall and they have a 2-1 record in their conference games too. They are 3-1 in their home games, 2-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Washington 41-24. Jeremy Hecklinski was the starting QB and he completed 14/19 passes for 202 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Kamari Moulton led the team in rushing yards with 208 and 2 TDs. Reece Vander Zee led the receivers with 69 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Xavier Styles led the defense in that game with 9 tackles while Cam Buffington and Preston Ries each led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Minnesota is entering this game with a 4-2 record overall and they have a 2-1 record in their conference games too. They are 3-1 in their home games, 1-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Purdue 41-13. Drake Lindsey was the starting QB and he completed 22/39 passes for 248 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Darius Taylor led the team in rushing yards with 15. Jalen Smith led the receivers with 89 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Maverick Baranowski led the defense in that game with 11 tackles while no one on the defense recorded a sack for them. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Minnesota listed as a 5.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Minnesota has looked good in their games this season with their 5-2 record overall and their 2-1 conference record which has them in the top half of the Big Ten. They have looked good on their home field too with their 3-1 home record this season. Meanwhile, Iowa has looked good in their games this season with their 5-1 record overall and their 2-1 conference record which has them in the top half of the Big Ten. Iowa is coming off a 41-24 road win over Washington in their last one and they had their bye week right after, so they have had 2 weeks to prepare for this one. Their only loss this season was against Ohio State who is one of the best teams in the nation and that was a tight game for a bit. They have one of the best defenses in the conference as they usually do, but this year their offense has looked a lot better too, putting up a lot more points consistently in their games. This is not an easy road game for them though and they will be facing another good defense in this one. Minnesota hasn't been giving up a ton of points this season either and they have picked up some nice wins. They are coming off a 41-13 road loss to Purdue, but they will be looking to bounce back after getting embarrassed in that one. Minnesota is also coming out of their bye week, so they have had a lot of time to think about that loss and they will be eager to bounce back in such a big game at home against a ranked opponent. Iowa's offense has been better this season, but they still haven't had a great offense at times and this Minnesota defense can give them enough issues to keep this game within a field goal. The best way to place a bet here is on Minnesota to cover the spread in this game. 

Iowa Minnesota Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 24, 2026 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Iowa 20 Minnesota 17.

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Iowa Hawkeyes: 28-11 ATS as a road favorite of 7 points or less. 20-8 ATS in a road game where the total is between 35.5 and 42 points. 12-3 ATS when playing against a team with a winning record. 23-14 OVER as a road favorite of 7 points or less. 7-1 OVER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 75%).

Minnesota Golden Gophers: 21-31 ATS at home versus good rushing defenses - allowing 120 rushing yards/game or less. 17-25 ATS at home vesus good rushing teams - averaging 4.75 rushing yards/carry or more. 14-23 ATS at home versus good rushing defenses - allowing 3.25 rushing yards/carry or less. 25-15 OVER as a home underdog of 7 points or less. 21-11 OVER off an upset loss as a favorite.

Iowa Hawkeyes:  H. Brown (QB) Out - Shoulder. L. Phillips Jr. (RB) Questionable - Ankle.

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  B. Stevens (WR) Questionable - Illness. Z. Bates (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Sunderland (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Turner (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Estrada (RB) Out - Knee.

“Being on the road, short week, you know, all kinds of reasons maybe we wouldn’t play well. But give the guys a lot of credit, they did a great job all week.” - Kirk Ferentz after his team’s win against Washington in their last game. 

“They dominated the game in pretty much every facet. You have to give them a ton of credit. We have to get a lot better. When you get beat in every single area and they play well in every area, the score is going to look like the score looked.” - P.J. Fleck after his team’s loss against Purdue in their last game. 

WR Vander Zee, Reece 

WR Diaz, Tony

WR James, Evan

TE Vonnahme, DJ

QB Brown, Hank

RB Moulton, Kamari

WR Smith, Jalen

WR Jennings, Noah

WR Tracy, Javon

TE Walsh, Pierce

QB Lindsey, Drake

RB Taylor, Darius

Passing: Hank Brown (832)

Rushing: Kamari Moulton (519)

Receiving: Tony Diaz (329)

Touchdowns: Xavier Williams (4)

Passing: Drake Lindsey (1,335)

Rushing: TJ Thomas (317)

Receiving: Javon Tracy (375)

Touchdowns: Darius Taylor (5)

Coaches:

Iowa Hawkeyes: Kirk Ferentz (28th season)

Minnesota Golden Gophers: P.J. Fleck (10th season)