Ball State vs NIU NCAAF Handicapping
Northern Illinois will look to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak, having won 24 in a row at Huskie Stadium, when they host the Ball State Owls on Wednesday night in DeKalb.
Ball State at No. 18 Northern Illinois
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013
Time: 8 p.m. EST
Venue: Huskie Stadium
City: DeKalb
O/U Odds: OFF
Spread: Northern Illinois -6.5
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The Cardinals (9-1) are no push over, and will now look to improve its record by upsetting the Huskies on the road in this contest.
Ball State has a just a single loss on the year, coming at North Texas back in mid September, when the Mean Green came from behind to stun the Cards 34-27.
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Since then, the Cardinals have won seven in a row, including five wins by at least 18 points or more.
Quarterback Keith Wenning has 27 touchdowns to just five interceptions, and Ball State’s two-headed rushing attack of Jahwan Edwards and Horactio Banks has combined for 1,344 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.
The Cardinals remained undefeated in conference play following a 20-point win over Central Michigan last time out, with Wenning throwing for 299 yards and four touchdowns.
Ball State will need that amount of offensive production to continue if they want to derail an 18th ranked Northern Illinois team, which has passed every test they’ve faced during the 2013 season, and have the nation’s longest conference winning streak – 22 straight victories against MAC opponents.
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The Huskies (9-0) improved to 5-0 in MAC play with a 44-point rout of Massachusetts on Nov. 2, behind another solid outing from dual-threat quarterback Jordan Lynch who had a career-high four rushing touchdowns on the day.
Lynch is the primary reason the Huskies have defeated big teams like Iowa, Purdue and a 9-1 Eastern Illinois squad, putting them into position to take over first place in the Mid-American Conference’s West Division with a win over the Cardinals.
NIU ranks fourth in rushing yards per game and eighth in points per game, and have relied heavily on Lynch who currently has 1,871 passing yards and 19 touchdowns to go along with 1,150 rushing yards and 12 scores on the ground.
However, even though the Huskies offense gets most of the attention, its defense is stingy, and has yielded just 24 points or less in six-straight games.
Matt’s Free Prediction
This game will feature two quarterbacks with impressive stats but very different styles.
But in the end, the team that controls the running game wins this one.
Northern Illinois 37, Ball State 31
