This Saturday, the Hawkeyes are entering Kinnick Stadium as the 6.5-point underdogs. Although College GameDay won’t be present in Iowa City, Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit already have conflicting picks over the emerging winner. But Dan Lanning had better keep an ear out after Saban’s warning that might prove Herbstreit right.

Recently, Herbstreit appeared on the Pat McAfee show, digging deep into the ranked clash between No. 20 Iowa vs No. 9 Oregon Ducks. He was clear on his take, much to Lanning’s distress. “Hey, hey, shh…Oregon loses Saturday,” he bluntly said. Next came a legendary former Alabama coach, who believes that Oregon has the perfect ingredients. “Oregon has some fantastic skill guys and a great quarterback…” But there’s a caveat.

Oregon’s O-line and run-game. “When they’ve not been able to win on the line of scrimmage, and when they’ve not been able to run the ball and have balance. They’ve struggled a little bit,” he said on the Pat McAfee show. Duck’s O-line issues came glaringly against Indiana. The only loss sustained this season by Dan Lanning so far, recording season-high six sacks. But then again, Dante Moore’s offense hadn’t faced off against a program of such caliber.

Carrying around 40 pounds on average as compared to Indiana’s defensive line, Moore’s offense struggled to exploit ground coverage, averaging merely 2.7 yards per carry.

The Hawkeyes’ defense is robust, recording 17 sacks over the course of the season, allowing an average of 13.1 points (ranking No. 4). They have been able to limit the offense to just 234.9 yards (No. 3 ) over the weeks.

Undoubtedly, Moore ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten with 1,772 passing yards. However, his rushing game is limited to 131 yards on 40 carries, with no rushing touchdowns. Overall, Duck’s rushing game has sputtered to 6.3 yards per carry.  Noah Whittington tops the chart with 433 rushing yards and four touchdowns, while RB Jordon Davidson is the one with the most impact created. On 352 yards, he has scored 10 touchdowns.

“The offense line has regressed some over the past couple of weeks, and that’s a bit concerning. The Ducks need to establish a running game to set up play-action to keep the Iowa defense off-balance,” Ducks Wire’s Don Smalley wrote.

Nick Saban further added. “And I think that’s what they’re looking at, Iowa, because Iowa was going to be a physical team there,” Saban added. The Hawkeyes will try to force the Ducks to make the game one-dimensional. Lanning needs to sort out how to map out the Iowa threat.

Dan Lanning acknowledges the Iowa threat

Dan Lanning acknowledges the threat posed by Iowa’s defense. Admitting to Saban’s line of thought, he stated, “Their defense, they choke you out. They do a great job of taking away easy access. Their defensive line really stands out to me on film with the technique they play with,” he said per SI.

Not just that, a roster full of veterans poses a challenge. Initially, Iowa was not ranked in the AP polls (before college football playoff rankings), but now boasts No. 20th on the chart, a development that certainly shocked him.

Herbstreit is rooting for the underdogs, but with a close win, Iowa 16, Oregon 35. “There’s just something about certain teams in Iowa when you go to November,” he adds in a conversation with McAfee. “It’d be a loss. … I’m telling you, Iowa, typical Iowa, it’s going to be ugly.”

Coming off a bye week, both programs have suffered defeat against Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers and have lost.