Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz. Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa HC thinks it would be 'kind of funny' to beat Michigan in the Big Ten Championship

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 11/28/23

The odds are in Michigan's favor heading into the Big Ten Championship game.

The early point spread favors Michigan by 23.5 points over Iowa, and it makes sense considering the Wolverines' dominance in 2023. They're 12-0, ranked No. 3 in the country, one of the favorites to win the College Football Playoff national championship and they just dispatched arch-rival Ohio State for the third-straight season.

Michigan is good. Real good. But a 23.5-point favorite? That's silly in a championship game. Speaking of silly, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz thinks there's another humorous outcome to the game as well.

Kirk Ferentz on Michigan: "If we win, it might screw things up (for the College Football Playoff), that might be kind of funny."
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) November 28, 2023

To be fair, Iowa beating Michigan would be a massive upset, but it's not out of this world to think that it's a possibility.

First, the Hawkeyes have one of the best defenses in the country, even without star cornerback Cooper DeJean — who was lost for the season with an injury in Week 12. The Hawkeyes give up just 12.2 points per game.

Yes, Michigan boasts the best scoring defense in the country (allowing just 10.3 points per game) but if this thing becomes a defensive showdown, there's always the chance that Iowa can pull off a close one — especially since the Hawkeyes' special teams has always been able to swing a game.

Of course, there's the pesky problem of Iowa's anemic offense, which scores only 18 points per game, but in a defensive slugfest Iowa's offense may not matter as much and it certainly wouldn't matter as much as the defense.

The point there's certainly a viable route for the Hawkeyes to leave Indianapolis with a win this weekend, and Ferentz is right. In terms of the CFP committee, that certainly would be funny.

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