CFB Handicapping: Ohio Bobcats vs NIU Huskies
The Ohio Bobcats have enjoyed a nice season and enter the MAC Championship game on a 5 game winning streak.
Ford Field – Detroit, MI
Friday December 2 – 7:00PM
Moneyline: Northern Illinois -175, Ohio +155
Spread (ATS): Northern Illinois -4
Over/Under: 70
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
Ohio
Their key game this season was a mid-week home upset of Temple. After that they were in the drivers seat in the MAC East and they were able to win some close ball games to earn their spot. This is an underrated team that if not for a couple of hiccups would be 11-1.
Broken record warning: You have to like the balance of the Ohio offense. They run and throw the ball equally well and I like them even more now that I know that their QB Tyler Tettleton is the son of great Tigers slugging catcher Mickey Tettleton…and this game is in Detroit.
The Bobcats should be able to move the ball on Northern Illinois, but pretty much everyone else has too.
Obviously these teams are in separate division so they don’t play every year. There are no discernible trends to spot in the series other than betting on the home team is a good idea – but that won’t really help you out here. Ohio is the less explosive offensive team but also the better defensive team. The key will be whether they can hold up against a big Huskie offensive line.
Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois lost just once in MAC conference play, their conference opener at Central Michigan. Since then they have won 7 in a row by mauling opponents on offense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Before last week’s win against Eastern Michigan they had scored 31 or more points in all of those victories. The Huskies are the second highest scoring team in the MAC after Toledo.
Quarterback Chandler Harnish is having an amazing senior season. He leads all FBS QBs in rushing yardage with more than 1300 and averages almost 8 yards per carry. Lucky for NIU he is big enough to take the pounding.
He is also precise through the air and protects the ball – he hasn’t thrown an interception in the last 5 games. Even though he is a runner he can hang in the pocket to make a play.
Northern Illinois was my pick to win the MAC this year and even though I was disappointed with their performance in the non-conference part of their schedule, I have seen nothing lately to make me change my opinion.
Ohio is no pushover and they should be able to move the ball against NIU but I think the Huskies run game will prove to be too much.
ATS Pick: Northern Illinois -4
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Northern Illinois 45 – Ohio 35
