The MAC’s top passer, Drew Hare (1,550 yards, 9 TDs), and the Northern Illinois Huskies play second-leading rusher, Darius Jackson (698 yards, 10 TDs), and the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Northern Illinois (4-3) enters the week hoping to stop the bleeding after losing three of its last five. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct 24 and will air on ESP3.
Northern Illinois cruised past Miami (OH) 45-12 last week. Joel Bouagnon had a big game on the ground in the win, rushing for 134 yards and three TDs on 14 carries. Marcus Jones had a big game as well, totaling 77 rushing yards and a TD on two attempts. Eastern Michigan didn’t have the same success as Northern Illinois, losing big to Toledo 63-20. Cody Tuttle had a good game for the Eagles, totaling eight receptions for 60 yards. Darius Jackson also had a big game with 113 rushing yards and two TDs on 18 attempts.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment.
Heading into Week 8 of the college football season, the Huskies are 4-3 Straight Up (SU) and 4-2-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Huskies run game will attempt to benefit from a poor rush defense. The Eagles currently rank 128th in the nation with 344 rushing yards allowed per game. Transitioning to the Northern Illinois defense, there are some things to keep in mind when it is on the field. The Eagles will be matching up against a stout Northern Illinois pass defense, which only allowed 191.8 passing yards over their last five matchups. One of the keys to the game will be whether the Eagles can protect the ball against the ambitious defense of the Huskies, who rank 25th in the nation with two turnovers per game. Northern Illinois usually finishes games strong, averaging 11.7 points in the fourth quarter.
Across the field, the Eagles have a record of 3-4 ATS and 1-6 SU. Eastern Michigan’s 16th-ranked pass defense has given its competition difficulty. Opponents have only thrown for 169 yards per game against this terrorizing bunch. The Eagles will look to reap the benefits of fumbles from the Huskies, who are one of the worst in the country with 1.3 fumbles lost per game.
Predictions: SU Winner – Northern Illinois, ATS Winner – Northern Illinois
Notes
Northern Illinois is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Northern Illinois’s last 9 games.
Northern Illinois is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games.
Northern Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Northern Illinois is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Northern Illinois’s last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Northern Illinois’s last 11 games when playing Eastern Michigan.
Northern Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Eastern Michigan.
Northern Illinois is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Eastern Michigan.
Northern Illinois is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan is 1-1 SU when leading at the start of the 4th quarter this season. Northern Illinois is 4-0 SU when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
Remarkably, Northern Illinois is winless (0-2) SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet 2-1 SU when losing the turnover battle.
The Northern Illinois rushing attack is ranked 30th in the nation, compared to the 128th-ranked run defense of Eastern Michigan.
