By Dallas Jones

IOWA CITY, IOWA – We were so close to a positive record that the drought was inevitable. Thankfully, Nebraska was stopped near the end zone last week to finish the game and cash the under. If not, we could’ve been faced with the dreaded reverse sweep, but a little adversity won’t stop us.

A new week is upon us and I always say, you can’t have a great comeback with a great deficit. Let’s get into the picks.

Iowa @ Maryland (U43.5): I don’t know if you have heard, but the Iowa Hawkeyes will be trotting out walk-on QB Jackson Stratton this Saturday against former Hawkeye Offensive Coordinator Brian Ferentz and the 4-6 Maryland Terrapins.

Jay Higgins is back and ready to lead a Hawkeye defense that was (for lack of a better term), bullied by UCLA last time out.

They gave up 405 total yards on offense, yet still managed to only give up 20 points. The Hawkeyes are favored by four and a half points in this game and have not given up more than 20 since the October 19th matchup at Michigan State. The key to victory for the Hawkeyes will come from controlling the game on the ground, a recipe for a low scoring affair.

Indiana (+10.5) @ Ohio State: Some men just want to see the world burn (or the CFP committee in this instance) and I am one of them. If you have not seen some of the insane discourse surrounding Indiana and some other programs rankings in the latest College Football Playoff poll, I envy you. Indiana is a perfect 10-0 this season and somehow they are getting backlash left and right because of the strength of their schedule.

It’s simple, you can only play the teams on your schedule. The Hoosiers have shown up for ten straight weeks this season and accomplished their goal for the week, to win. Ohio State might be a bit of a tougher challenge, but they are not immortal. Just a few weeks ago, we saw Nebraska push Ohio State to their limit in a 21-17 win.Football doesn’t always work out that way, but I can hang my hat on Indiana keeping this game within eleven points.

Illinois (ML) @ Rutgers: I can’t say I love this pick because Illinois has let me down multiple times this year and Rutgers has come through for me early this season. They call these games pick ems for a reason and I am picking one! Rutgers this season won four straight to start the year, then lost four straight and are now on a two game winning streak after last weeks win 31-17 win over Maryland.

Illinois impressed me just a little bit more in their 38-16 win over Michigan State last Saturday, so I am trusting the former Hawkeye Bret Bielema.

Colorado (-2.5) @ Kansas: After an early loss to Nebraska, Colorado has proven time and time again they are the real deal. The Heisman favorite Travis Hunter is coming off of another game that included an interception on defense and a touchdown on offense. Generational talents like this must be appreciated and I will make sure to do that.

Kansas does look like the king slayers after knocking off Iowa State and BYU in consecutive weeks, but water has to find its level. I won’t write off Kansas putting up a good fight, but I trust Shedeur and the boys form Boulder in this one.

Texas A&M (-2.5) @ Auburn: I cannot stress this enough, Auburn stinks.

Just one more week of regular season college football after this, let us cherish it and have fun.

Season Record: 16-21-2 (1-3 last week)