The Northern Illinois Huskies are dogs as they prepare to battle the Buffalo Bulls in the MAC Championship Game. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN2 and this Friday game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Buffalo Bulls Betting Preview
The Huskies enter into this Friday MAC game as the dog here and are currently getting 4 points. The Huskies are also receiving +155 moneyline odds while the Bulls are -175. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 49 points, and should one school gets out in front early, it’ll likely generate a nice live betting scenario.
The opening line was -4. The game’s over/under hasn’t moved since it opened at 49.
The Huskies are 6-6 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 0.7 units so far in 2018. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an Over-Under record of 2-9-1. The surprising Bulls are up 6.0 units this season. The team is 9-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 8-3.
The Huskies have gone 7-5 straight up (SU), including 6-2 SU against conference opponents. The Bulls are 10-2 SU overall and are also 7-1 SU in conference play.
The Huskies fell to Western Michigan 28-21 in a game where their secondary allowed the Broncos to air it out for 285 yards. D’Wayne Eskridge had a productive day for the Broncos in that one with 123 yards on six catches. On the offensive side of the ball, Marcus Childers completed 14-of-21 passes for only 156 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Childers (53 rushing yards on 22 attempts, one TD) also led the ground attack and was complemented by Tre Harbison (43 yards on 16 carries) in the loss. Spencer Tears (six receptions, 84 yards, one TD) and D.J. Brown (five catches, 30 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Buffalo just earned a blowout 44-14 win over Bowling Green. The team’s defensive unit held its ground in the victory, keeping the Falcons to only 147 passing yards and 58 rushing yards. Scott Miller was a bright spot in the loss for Bowling Green, accounting for 115 yards and two touchdowns on four catches. For Buffalo, Tyree Jackson completed 12-of-20 passes for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Kevin Marks (63 yards on 21 rush attempts, two TDs) and Emmanuel Reed (109 yards on 15 carries) mounted the ground game in the win while Anthony Johnson (four receptions, 26 yards) and Marks (three catches, 18 yards) led the receiving corps.
Breaking down the offensive play-calling, each of these squads has a similar run-pass ratio on the season. Northern Illinois has run the ball on 60.5 percent of its offensive possessions while Buffalo has a rush percentage of 59.4. The Huskies have rushed for 177 yards/game (including 226 per game versus Mid-American opponents) and have 16 scores via handoffs this year. The Bulls are averaging 200 rush yards per game (227 in conference) and have 32 total rushing TDs.
The Huskies offensive scheme has tallied 141 yards/game through the air overall (143 per game against conference opposition) and has 11 passing TDs so far. The Bulls have recorded 219 pass yards per outing (217.4 against MAC competition) and have 25 total pass scores.
Northern Illinois has allowed opponents to run for an average of 107 yards and pass for 237 yards per game. The Buffalo defense has given up 174.9 yards per game to opposing passers and 169.5 yards per game on the ground. The Bulls are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.65 to opposing QBs, while the Huskies have given up a 5.36 ANY/A.
Offensively, Childers is up to 1,539 passing yards this season. The signal-caller has connected on 58 percent of his 303 attempts with 11 scores through the air and eight interceptions. He has a 3.41 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 2.62 over the last two outings.
Tyree Jackson has completed 178-of-316 passes for 2,489 yards, 25 TDs and nine INTs for Buffalo. His ANY/A stands at 7.87 for the season and 3.71 across his past two outings.
These two squads faced off last year with the final result being a 14-13 win for Northern Illinois.
RELATED: Week 14 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
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Notes
Betting Trends
The O/U for Northern Illinois’ last game was set at 49. The O/U pushed in the team’s 28-21 loss to Western Michigan.
As a team, Northern Illinois has averaged 5.0 yards per carry over its last three contests and 4.0 over its last two.
Buffalo has averaged 6.0 yards per carry over its last three outings and 5.8 over its last two.
Buffalo has lost four fumbles this season while Northern Illinois has lost seven.
Over its last three contests, Northern Illinois is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
The Over/Under for Buffalo’s previous matchup was set at 62.5. The under cashed in the 44-14 victory over Bowling Green.
In its last three games, Buffalo is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Buffalo has won seven of its last eight games SU, with a -35-point loss to Ohio on November 14th representing its one defeat over that span.
The Huskies offense has recorded two pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Bulls have accounted for 14 such plays.
The Northern Illinois defense has allowed eight pass plays of 40+ yards, while Buffalo has given up nine such plays.
Both defenses have produced 16 rushing plays of 20+ yards. The Northern Illinois offense has recorded 65 running plays of 10+ yards while Buffalo has accounted for 73 such plays.
The Huskies defense has allowed eight rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Bulls have given up 15 such runs.
The Northern Illinois defensive unit has 45 sacks on the year while Buffalo has just 30.
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