Iowa-Nebraska goes under total points bet mark

David Purdum, ESPN Staff WriterNov 24, 2023, 05:52 PM ET
Close
- Joined ESPN in 2014
- Journalist covering gambling industry since 2008

The lowest over/under total on a college football game this century — 25.5 — proved too high for Iowa and Nebraska on Friday, much to the dismay of the betting public.

Oddsmakers have been posting historically low totals on Iowa games throughout the season, but Friday’s was the lowest. It opened as high as 28 earlier this week at sportsbooks, was bet down to as low as 24.5 on Thursday, before ticking back up and closing at a consensus 25.5.

At 25.5, it’s the lowest total in ESPN Stats & Information’s database, which has archived over/unders back to 2000. Eleven games since 2000 have had totals less than 34; Iowa has been involved in eight of those games, all of which stayed under the total.

The trend didn’t dissuade the betting public from backing the over this week. As of Friday at BetMGM, no game on the board had attracted more bets on the over than Iowa-Nebraska, and other sportsbooks reported upward of 80% of the money bet on the total backed the over.

Iowa pulled out a 13-10 win after a wild, mistake-filled ending. The Hawkeyes had two field goals blocked and managed just 57 yards and two first downs in the second half. The teams combined to commit four turnovers, including interceptions by each team on the game’s final two drives, with the score tied 10-10.

With overtime looking likely, the Hawkeyes picked off Nebraska quarterback Chubba Purdy with 15 seconds left and got into field goal position on a 22-yard run by Leshon Williams. Iowa backup kicker Marshall Meeder, who was attempting his first field goal for the Hawkeyes, was true from 38 yards in the 13-10 win.