Free Week 8 Prediction: Huskies vs. Miami Ohio Odds
Looking for Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Miami Ohio Redhawks free picks? Week 8 betting sees the Huskies taking on the Redhawks on Saturday, October 19th at Yager Stadium, Oxford, Ohio. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions like this Northern Illinois Miami Ohio Week 8 free pick.
College Football Handicapping: Week 8
(2-4) Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Miami Ohio Redhawks (2-4)
Date: Saturday, October 19th 2019
Time: 2:30 pm EST
Venue: Yager Stadium, Oxford, Ohio
NCAA Football Spread: Huskies -2.5
NCAA Betting Total: 48
Click here to view… CFB ATS Stats & NCAAF Betting Insight for this game!
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A pair of 2 – 4 teams out of the MAC face off on Saturday when the Huskies and Redhawks meet in week 8.
While a bid for the post-season may seem out of reach entering the weekend, whichever team comes out of Oxford with a win could certainly, at least, look to finish strong and end up in a bowl game.
The Huskies snapped their 4-game losing streak last time out to grab win number 2 on the season, although the non-conference schedule they have played this year has been full of quality programs. While losing against the likes of Utah, Nebraska, and Vandy that is not anything to cry about considering they are still quality losses nonetheless.
Of course, the Huskies will still need to finish the season with 6 wins as they roll through the rest of the MAC docket having split the first two MAC outings this season.
The Redhawks were not expected to be among the MAC contenders this season after losing QB Gus Ragland among most of their lettermen.
While they too have played a decent non-conference schedule with Iowa, Cincinnati, and Ohio State among them, a big home win this weekend after a 1 – 1 start in MAC play can certainly turn their season in the right direction as well.
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What does it all mean? Well, the line setters see this a close game listing the Huskies as mild favorites, but we all know that home dogs love to fight and make nothing easy for their visitors.
N. Illinois Huskies
Huskies QB Ross Bowers has done pretty well after transferring from Cal, as he has put up 1,635 passing yards in the first 6 games of the season but needs to work on the turnovers. With 5 TD passes thus far, the 5 INTs have to be cleaned up if the Huskies plan on making a third straight trip to bowl season.
First-year head coach Tom Hammock is in unfamiliar territory having never been the man in charge, although his NFL experience as a coordinator has prepared him for this type of situation.
Returning to his alma mater was a no-brainer for Hammock, as he played for the Huskies and was also the RB coach here back in 2005-06.
While the passing game has been respectable with Bowers, the run game for the Huskies has been non-existent. The Huskies rank 30th in the country putting up 278.7 passing yards per contest, but 109.3 run yards per game has the Huskies ranked all the way back at 116th in the land.
Tre Harbison has tried to carry the load out of the backfield already over 100 rushes with 483 yards, although he is not a threat to catch much to aid the aerial attack.
Jordan Nettles has contributed some to relieve Harbison, as he has carried the ball 34 times for 139 yards, but he too has no interest in catching a pass.
Bowers spreads the ball out nicely to his WR corps, as you can see that he has 5 receivers already over 240 yards and they all have a sweet average per catch in double-digits. In fact, as a team, the Huskies are averaging 12.8 yards per reception, but finding the end zone has proved difficult.
Tyrice Richie has caught 3 TD passes and he is the only player with more than 1 for the team this season. While the yards and stats look good, we all know that points reign supreme so the end result needs to be addressed.
Getting into the red zone hasn’t been difficult, but finishing drives is where the Huskies have struggled this season.
Miami Oh Redhawks
The Redhawks lost Gus Ragland at QB and everyone wondered how Brett Gabbert would look taking over this season. Well, the numbers speak for themselves because he has simply not looked comfortable in the pocket and he has spent too much time on the ground.
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Gabbert has already been sacked 14 times and his 3 – 5 TD to INT ratio sure doesn’t have anyone convinced that he is the guy to build around.
The stats also speak volumes as a team, especially when you notice that we have 130 teams in FBS and Miami Ohio ranks 129th in total offensive yards per game (260.5).
In addition, the Redhawks rank 119th in both the passing game and with the run, so I think you get why this team is 2 – 4 and listed as a home dog this weekend.
Both running backs, Jaylon Bester and Tyre Shelton, have 40 carries on the season and they have combined to only bring in 323 yards and 3 trips to the end zone. As a squad, the Redhawks only average 2.7 yards per carry and that is obviously not going to get the chains moving too often.
If you think that is bad, let’s break down the receiving corps to make you really cringe. The leading receiver for the Redhawks has 12 receptions, and only 3 touchdowns have come from the passing game through 6 games.
Jack Sorenson has those 12 grabs, and he is barely over 100 yards for the year with 1 trip to glory. James Maye and Davion Johnson have each taken in 10 passes behind Sorenson, and let me stop here before I throw up all over my tablet.
Thanks, I appreciate you letting me stop here LOL
Oh wait, let me mention that the Redhawks also rank 121st in the nation allowing 37.3 PPG, and now you can throw up with me.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
- Huskies are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games on field turf.
- Huskies are 36-15-2 ATS in their last 53 road games.
- Over is 5-2 in Huskies last 7 road games.
- Redhawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Over is 5-2 in Redhawks last 7 games overall.
- Over is 5-2 in Redhawks last 7 games on field turf.
Free Week 8 NCAA Football Pick
Stop it. There is no question of what to do with Northern Illinois only favored by 2.5 points. That means we need the Huskies to win by a field goal to cash the ticket, and that is no fear for any of us to have.
Until the Redhawks prove that they can move the ball, we fade them.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick:
Northern Illinois -2.5 is your play without a doubt. You can obviously see that the Redhawks are simply not prepared to go out and bark like a home dog should, so we invest in the road team to win by the field goal
Week 8 Free Score Prediction: Northern Illinois 37 – Miami Ohio 20
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