#1 Keep the Hawkeye Defense on the field
Kentucky is top ten in time of possession this season. They love keeping control of the ball, and they can take their time on drives. With the Iowa defense being the center point of their team, Kentucky has to wear them out. Even the best defenses crack if they are left on the field too long.
With a third-string QB getting the start for Iowa, they have to capitalize on forcing three and outs. While Kentucky’s offense has been inconsistent all season, they should get plenty of chances.
#2 Let Kaiya Sheron take shots
With Will Levis opting out of the bowl game, Freshman QB Kaiya Sheron will be getting the start. As we said Kentucky’s offense has been inconsistent a lot, but they have nothing to lose here. The Iowa offense has been so horrid, they can take some chance in the vertical passing game.
Sheron saw major action in the middle of the season against South Carolina throwing for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Let him air it out and let Wildcat fans get excited about the future. (Yes I know Devin Leary just transferred in)
#3 Force Turnovers
Piggybacking off point #1 above, the quickest way to get your offense back on the field is by forcing turnovers. The Kentucky defense has forced 17 turnovers this season and will need to get a few more if they want to win this game.
With Sheron having some experience against a ranked South Carolina team, and Iowa’s Joe Labas having zero this could be the difference in this game. Yet, I believe Kentucky has more impactful opt-outs though for this game. I am going to go with the Iowa Defense to win this game outright and cover the 2.5-point spread.
Score Prediction: Iowa 16 Kentucky 13
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