Hlastradamus: Hawkeyes and 22 points is new for the seer

Hlastradamus rode the underdogs hard last week, and to good results.

Illinois beat Michigan State. Rutgers covered against Indiana. Purdue covered at Minnesota. Just as the prophet prognosticated.

He said this precise thing about the Notre Dame-Navy game when Navy was listed as a 7-point underdog by the good people at the Westgate in Las Vegas:

Navy is better, not worse, than Notre Dame. That makes handicapping easy

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Of course, the seer also took Iowa and 7.5 points at Penn State. Handicapping isn't altogether easy, even for the great one.

Well, Hlastradamus likes six underdogs and just one favorite this week. Act accordingly. And if the Westgate wants to comp the prophet for these plugs, comp away.

Iowa +22 vs. Michigan

The Hawkeyes haven't been this big an underdog in this millennium. And it's happening at home. The home field is supposed to be worth at least a field goal. It was worth a lot more than that to Penn State last week.

Hlastradamus says the Hawkeyes will throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Wolverines. It's wise to avoid throwing the kitchen sink, because such fixtures aren't cheap, plus it's a 15-yard penalty to do so during a game.

In the end, only kindness matters.

Whoops, the prophet got distracted there. He likes Jewel.

In the end, Michigan wins, Iowa covers. Twenty-two points is a lot of points, even in an apparent mismatch.

A bonus prediction: Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit spend more time talking about the coming Michigan-Ohio State game than the one they're at.

Indiana +7 vs. Penn State

Surprised? Hlastradamus doesn't do this to put you to sleep.

Indiana has the best motivation a team can have. At 5-4, it doesn't want to slump to 6-6 and go to the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.

Nebraska -7 vs. Minnesota

It's good to be home for the Huskers. Minnesota has been on a nice run with four straight games, but it's time for the Gophs to play an actual opponent again.

Hlastradamus will say seldom have two 7-2 teams met in a game with such little buzz.

Rutgers +14 at Michigan State

It's the Big Ten's somebody's-gotta-win game. The loser can still go 0-9 in the conference.

That someone is Rutgers, although the prophet is taking the Scarlet Knights and the points because Michigan State is the worst defending conference champion the Big Ten has ever seen.

Illinois +26.5 at Wisconsin

Purdue +13.5 vs. Northwestern

The favorites have no business losing, but the downtrodden seem to be rising up a bit.

Kansas +10 vs. Iowa State

These two teams covered last week against West Virginia and Oklahoma, respectively.

That's what those in the prediction business call baby steps.

Every win's a good win when you really need a win, and the Cyclones should be happy if they get this one with a last-second field goal or win by four touchdowns. Though, the latter is better.