The Illinois State Redbirds and Iowa Hawkeyes open their 2024 NCAA football seasons Saturday at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Illinois State vs. Iowa odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Illinois State enters the 2024 campaign ranked No. 19 in the STATS Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) football rankings and No. 20 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. The Redbirds went 6-5 straight up (SU) last season while going 4-4 in the ultra-competitive Missouri Valley Conference.
Iowa will once again have a nasty defense, as it has 8 returning starters from a unit which allowed just 282.5 total yards per game, 170.7 passing yards per game and 14.8 points per game.
For the Hawkeyes to be successful, though, they need to be a functional offense. Ex-Western Michigan coach Tim Lester is entrusted as turning things around as the new offensive coordinator. Iowa managed 15.4 PPG in 2023, so things can’t get much worse. QB Cade McNamara is back healthy and ready to lead the offense.