Minnesota vs Iowa State 2009 Insight Bowl Opening Point Spread: The Big Ten's Golden Gophers will take on the Big 12's Cyclones on New Year's Eve in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. The two combatants will kick things off at 6:00pm ET at Sun Devil Stadium; the game will be broadcast live on the NFL Network. The 2009 Insight Bowl Opening Point Spread at BetUS.com has Minnesota listed as a -2.5 against the spread favorite.
After tanking in his first season in Minnesota, Head Coach Tim Brewster has now guided the Gophers to back-to-back bowl 
games. Brewster's squad followed up last year's 7-6 campaign with a 6-6 regular season. The Gophers were not that impressive in conference action, going 3-5 in Big Ten play and finishing eighth in the 11 team league.
Minnesota managed just two wins in its final six games, those coming against Michigan State (42-34) and South Dakota State (16-13). The team closed out the regular portion of its schedule with a 0-12 loss at No. 10 Iowa.
Iowa State put together a solid season under first year Head Coach Paul Rhoads, finishing the year with a 6-6 record. The Cyclones won just five games the previous two seasons under former coach Gene Chizik. Rhoads, like Brewster, guided his squad to a 3-5 conference mark, which was good enough for a fourth place finish in the Big 12's North Division.
The Cyclones did not close out the year in good fashion as they lost three of their final four games. Their lone win in that stretch came against the Colorado Buffaloes (17-10) in Ames.
Iowa State has not been to a bowl since 2005 when it lost the Houston Bowl to TCU 24-27. The Cyclones played in the Insight.com Bowl in 2000, beating Pittsburgh 37-29 as a two point underdog. The Gophers played in the Insight Bowl in both 2006 and 2008. They lost the 2006 game to Texas Tech 41-44 in overtime and the fell last year to the Kansas Jayhawks 21-42.
BetUS.com Minnesota vs Iowa State 2009 Insight Bowl Opening Point Spread:
Minnesota Golden Gophers -2.5 (-110), Over 48.5 (-110), -140 (Moneyline)
Iowa State Cyclones +2.5 (-110), Under 48.5 (-110), +120 (Moneyline)
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