Hlastradamus: Double-digit points for Iowa at home? Sign the seer up!

OK, you’ve probably heard (and heard) that Iowa is 5-1 in its last six home games against top-five teams.

Did you know it was 6-0 against the spread in those games?

Did you know Michigan, the Hawkeyes’ guest Saturday, is ranked No. 4?

Did you know Hlastradamus went 3-1 against the spread last week and is 6-1 over the last two weeks?

What exactly did you know, and when did you know it?

Iowa +10.5 vs. Michigan

Hlastradamus typically isn’t a big trends soothsayer. He doesn’t use TikTok. He isn’t into hot Goth or power Bohemian florals. He’s not a fan of fascism, which is all the rage in too many circles.

But Iowa being 6-0 against the spread the last six times it played top-five teams at home? Sign him up! Especially as a double-digit underdog, and Iowa was a 10.5-point dog as of Thursday afternoon at Circa, a Las Vegas resort Hlastradamus favors.

Are you listening, Circa? There’s room here every week to plug you.

The visionary sees no need to explain why to take the 10.5 points other than this: It’s 10.5 points at home! Michigan is good, but it’s not Ohio State. It may not even be Penn State this year.

Iowa State -3 at Kansas

So, you’re on the road playing the darling college football story of America in September, and you’re a 3-point pick after that darling won as an underdog at West Virginia and Houston and is unbeaten against the spread?

Yes, because Saturday’s calendar says “October” on it. Also, until you show you can beat someone, you haven’t. Matt Campbell’s Cyclones are 6-0 against Kansas.

No, they aren’t the Jayhawks you’ve known and pitied for so many years. This team has offense, an exciting and innovative kind. It’s fourth in the nation in scoring, which blows the prophet’s mind.

But Iowa State is 14th in the nation in total defense. The Cyclones get the win, get the cover, and get to worry about how to deal with Kansas in men’s basketball.

Minnesota -12.5 vs. Purdue

Are the 4-0 Gophers a juggernaut? Even the seer can’t see that. Yet.

But Minny is 4-0 against the spread, the only Big Ten team that can say that. It has been in beast mode since Day One against ordinary competition. It flattened Michigan State in East Lansing last week.

Mohamed Ibrahim is a running back who is leaving a trail of shattered defenders behind him, and backup Trey Potts runs over their remains.

The status of injured Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell is murky. So are the Boilermakers’ hopes with their leaky defense.

USC money line (-4500) vs. Arizona State

The prophet knows it’s no prophecy to pick USC to beat Arizona State straight up in Los Angeles. The Trojans are 25.5-point favorites.

But according to Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) at VSIN, someone in Las Vegas placed a $575,000 bet on USC to win the game. The bet would win $12,777.80. That’s 12 grand and change, with 575 grand wagered.

Risking $575,000 on anything would make most of you nervous. Hlastradamus, however, knows that bettor is about to make $12,777.80. So take your $575K to your nearest sportsbook, and win yourself enough to buy a couple of nice e-bikes, or go to the Amazon for a week, or buy a 2007 Toyota Prius.

The diviner, as always, is here to help.