Week five of the college football season is here. Houston plays Iowa State, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Saturday, Sep. 28, 6:00 p.m. (CT); TDECU Stadium; Houston, Texas.
TV: FS1
Records: Iowa State, 3-0; Arkansas State, 1-3.
Last Week: Iowa State def. Arkansas State 52-7; Houston lost to Cincinnati 34-0
Series History: This is their first meeting.
Last Meeting: This is their first meeting.
Fun Fact: Saturday’s matchup will be the first between Iowa State and Houston. That means the Cyclones will have faced three new opponents in their first four games, with the only familiar opponent in Iowa.
Team A vs. Team B Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Iowa State (-13)
Over/Under: 43.5
Key Players
Houston Cougars
QB Donovan Smith
While this may be the first time that Houston will play Iowa State, it will not be the first time that Donovan Smith has played Iowa State. Prior to Houston, Smith was at Texas Tech, where he played the Cyclones twice (2021 and 2022) and won both times. Donovan certainly hasn’t gotten off to a great start this season, but he will need to be at his best against a good Iowa State defense.
LB Michael Batton
Batton has been one of the bright spots of this Houston defense. The senior linebacker leads the team in tackles (29) and sacks (2). Michael will have to play a significant role on Saturday because Iowa State’s offense is one of the most dangerous in the Big 12.
Iowa State Cyclones
RB Abu Sama III
I have mentioned Rocco Becht as my key player over the last few weeks but I wanted to focus on running back ABU Sama III. He had a breakout year last season and really caught fire later in the year. But so far this season, he has yet to score a touchdown which I find quite surprising. This has to be the game where he gets a bulk of the carriers and maybe finds his way into the end zone.
The Defensive Line
Over the last few weeks this unit has done an outstanding job up front against teams like Iowa and Arkansas State. Now they get a chance to go up against one of the worst rushing offenses in college football and they should have a field day up front. There is no reason why this defensive line shouldn’t be living in the backfield on Saturday.
Key Storylines
Houston Cougars
Show some life. I don’t mean to be rude here but after watching this team get beat 34-0 by Cincinnati last I am not sure how worse things can get. They didn’t play well defensively and their offense is the worst the Big 12. I am not saying the Cougars need to pull out a miracle upset win here but this team needs to show some life and some energy in this game. That’s all I can ask for.
Iowa State Cyclones
Take Care of Business. As much as I enjoy my trips to Houston, this is purely a business trip for Iowa State. The Cyclones have established themselves a top Big 12 title contender and they clearly are the better team coming into this game. By no means does Iowa State need to play a perfect game here but it will be important to get off to a strong start.
Prediction: Iowa State: 34, Houston: 17
To simply put it, Iowa State is a good football team and Houston is not. The Cyclones are better in every phase of the game and if they just play up to 75% of their ability then they should have no issues in the Bayou City. Also, Matt Campbell will become the all-time leader in wins in Iowa State history passing Dan McCarney.
