Championship week has arrived, as the top college football teams in the country compete in various conference title games. One of the big matchups scheduled for the night slate is the Big Ten Championship Game between the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines and No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes. Entering the game, Michigan is viewed as the heavy favorite, considering how they've played throughout the year. While Iowa was 10-2, they aren't exactly known for their offense.
Yet, that's not stopping some members of the College GameDay crew from predicting a massive upset.
In the final moments of ESPN College GameDay on Saturday, the crew gave their predictions for the Big Ten Championship Game. Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard picked Michigan to win. Meanwhile, Lee Corso, Pat McAfee, and guest picker Theo Von picked Iowa.
ESPN College GameDay picks Iowa to upset Michigan in Big Ten Championship Game
McAfee said he's picking Iowa because they were set at 22-point underdogs for the game and said they won two of their last three games in which they were 20-or-more-point underdogs.
Earlier in the morning, Herbstreit posted a video of Corso and asked him for his surprise pick of the weekend. Corso said it's Iowa beating Michigan. When Herbstreit asked if he meant Iowa was going to keep it close, Corso said, "No, Iowa is going to beat them."
Iowa is known, well, for punting the football really well and having a shut-down defense this season. But when it comes to their offense, the Hawkeyes are only averaging 18.0 points per game, which ranks 121st in the entire nation. That is tied with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who Iowa beat 13-10 last week to win the Big Ten West title. Defensively, Iowa ranks fourth in scoring defense (12.17 points allowed per game).
As for Michigan, they have the 13th-best scoring offense in the country, as they average 37.6 points per game. The Wolverines also rank first in scoring defense, allowing a nation-low 10.25 points per game.
If Michigan wins this game, they will undoubtedly clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row. But if they lose, it will make for an interesting Selection Sunday.
