By Marc Lawrence — The longest tenured head coach in the FBS, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz has won his road opening game 8 straight years. He’s also won his season-opening contest 18 of the last 19 years.
However, the Hawkeyes are just 3-7 ATS as favorites of late in road openers – and the off-season turmoil surrounding Ferentz amid accusations of mistreatment of players and racial unrest doesn’t help Iowa here.
We realize Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm owns only one winning season in West Lafayette while compiling a record of 17-21 SU in four years.
But Purdue led the nation in starts by freshmen last season (32.3%) and 52.3% of starts made by the Boilermakers were made by underclassmen, meaning they’re loaded with experience.
With 17 returning starters back, and revenge on their mind from a 26-20 loss at Iowa last season, we call the upset, especially knowing that head coach Brohm is sidelined after a positive COVID test.
His son Brian (the program’s co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach) will serve as the team’s acting head coach in this season-opening “win one for the “Gipper” contest.
PURDUE over Iowa by 7
