Iowa vs. Oklahoma: Sooners' Lack of Interest Will Lead to Hawkeye Victory

There’s no question that the Oklahoma Sooners have more talent than the Iowa Hawkeyes. Even most Iowa fans would tell you that.

Come on, it’s Oklahoma. There aren’t many college teams anywhere that have more talent than the Sooners.

However, this is the Insight Bowl. Does Oklahoma really want to be here? They had national championship aspirations, but after a disappointing 9-3 season, they have to settle with the fourth-best bowl for a Big 12 team.

I can think of another (former) Big 12 team that was in this situation last year.

Nebraska didn’t really want to be in the Holiday Bowl and came out extremely flat. They lost to a Washington team they had absolutely dominated earlier in the year.

The thought of a team failing to get pumped up for a game has always baffled me, but if anyone is going to have trouble, it will be Oklahoma against this underwhelming 7-5 Iowa team.

As odd as it might sound, the lack of appeal in both this bowl game and Iowa itself will only improve the Hawkeyes’ chances tonight.

Also working in the favor of Iowa is the amount of injuries for Oklahoma.

They are already without All-World wide receiver Ryan Broyles, but the Sooners will also be without three more key offensive players.

Among them is wide receiver Jaz Reynolds, and that’s a big loss. Reynolds had stepped up alongside Broyles and then in his place as a big-play threat. He was averaging a team-best 17.4 yards per catch on 41 receptions.

The Sooners are now down to Kenny Stills as their only true threat in the passing game. Quarterback Landry Jones is talented, but he struggled down the stretch—at least in terms of his touchdown-to-interception ratio—with a lack of weapons.

Also out of the game is fullback Aaron Ripkowski. The freshman is a very solid blocker and is an underrated loss for the Sooners.

Against a good Hawkeyes defense, Oklahoma is going to have trouble on the offensive end. There are too many things working against them.

Of course, Iowa has its fair share of problems as well. Running back Marcus Coker, the team’s best offensive weapon, is out due to a suspension.

Coker has been an absolute workhorse for the Hawkeyes, so it’s unclear where the offense will go without him, but it’s likely it will struggle.

What you're going to have in this one are two less-than-ideal offenses. The game will likely turn into a who-wants-it-more slugfest on defense.

And who do you think that favors? An Oklahoma squad that doesn’t want to be there, or an Iowa team from the Big 10 that is used to these types of battles?

I’m going with the 14-point underdog. Hawkeyes win this one, 24-21.