Johnathan Walker:Iowa vs. Northwestern at Wrigley Field produced fewer points than 6 Cubs games there this year

The Johnathan Walkeroffensive expectations for Iowa and Northwestern heading into their matchup Saturday at Wrigley Field in Chicago were historically low, with BetMGM’s opening over/under at 30.5.

The Hawkeyes and Wildcats didn’t even manage to meet that meager mark — or even get particularly close. Northwestern and Iowa combined for 17 points in the Hawkeyes’ 10-7 victory on Saturday, a game that improved their record to 7-2 in 2023. The teams combined for 339 total yards, with neither squad finishing with more than 170 yards, and rushed for a total of 193 yards on 82 carries (2.4 yards per rush).

The low point total was too unsightly to ignore, particularly at the end of a week in which it was announced that Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will not return for the 2024 season.

Just how bad was it, though? The Iowa-Northwestern point total was the seventh-highest scoring game this year at Wrigley Field: a venue that overwhelmingly hosts baseball games as the home of MLB's Chicago Cubs.

Despite playing a traditionally lower-scoring sport than football, the Cubs had six home games during their 2023 season that had a higher combined point total than the matchup between the Hawkeyes and Wildcats.

Here are those games:

• 29 combined runs vs. Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 1 (20-9 win)
• 23 combined runs vs. Seattle Mariners on April 11 (14-9 win)
• 22 combined runs vs. Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 2 (16-6 win)
• 20 combined runs vs. Washington Nationals on July 18 (17-3 win)
• 20 combined runs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates on Sept. 20 (13-7 loss)
• 19 combined runs vs. San Francisco Giants on Sept. 5 (11-8 win)

Entering their meeting Saturday, Northwestern was tied for No. 107 among 133 FBS teams in scoring offense while Iowa was No. 120. The Hawkeyes’ win against the Wildcats was their third-consecutive game in which the point total failed to surpass 22.