NIU vs UMass Prediction, Picks & Odds for November 12 — College Football Week 12

Neither NIU nor UMass can score enough points on Wednesday night to take this Over the 43.5-point total.

Eric Rosales - Contributor at Covers.com
Eric Rosales • Betting Analyst
Nov 11, 2025 • 08:31 ET • 4 min read

NCAAF

Match starts: 33 hrs
MASS
56 %
NIU
44 %
EXPERT PICK - TOTAL
u43.5 (-115)
Read Analysis
Chavon Wright NIU Huskies NCAA College Football
Photo By - Imagn Images. NIU RB Chavon Wright (10) gets tripped up by a defender.

It’s one of UMass Minutemen’s last legitimate chances to scratch one in the win column, as they host the Northern Illinois Huskies in a battle of teams at the bottom of the MAC.

How bad has it gotten for UMass? Consider that the Huskies have lost seven of eight, and they’re 11.5-point road favorites in the college football odds.

Our NIU vs UMass predictions and college football picks think this battle will fly Under the total on Wednesday, November 12.

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NIU vs UMass prediction

NIU vs UMass best bet: Under 43.5 (-115)

It’s amazing that two of the lowest-scoring football teams in the nation play in the MAC, and will look horns on Wednesday night. 

The UMass Minutemen are averaging just 11.3 points, and since scoring a season-high in a 27-26 loss to Bryant, their offense has been grim.

They have cracked the 20-point plateau once over the next seven games, have cracked double digits two other times, and have scored seven points or less four others.

UMass has hit the Over in three straight, but the opposition fueled those totals. Akron wiped the Minutemen out 44-10, and Central Michigan dunked on them 38-13. Their only game showing some resistance was a 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bulls.

The Northern Illinois Huskies aren’t going to be doing their share of the heavy lifting, not even with UMass ranking last in the MAC and 130th in the nation, allowing 36.8 points per game.

That’s because the Huskies are nearly as offensively challenged as their opponents, averaging a paltry 12.2 points per game, 134th in college football.

The only good news in the last two months was last week’s 21-7 win over Ball State. Outside of that, Northern Illinois has put up 10 points or fewer in five of seven losses.

Last time out, the Huskies were crushed by Toledo 42-3. The Under has cashed in six of their last nine games, and two of the three Overs were powered by opponents ringing up 40+.

The third? A 25-14 loss to Miami (OH) with the line at a merciful 38.5 points. There’s no other way to be this than Under.

NIU vs UMass same-game parlay

We’re throwing in UMass’ total into a 3-legged SGP, as it’s begging to be thrown in there. The Minutemen have gone Under this scoring total of 15.5 seven times in nine games.

The only times they didn’t were a 27-26 loss to Bryant and the 28-21 loss to Buffalo. The trend is that they can’t push enough points to win, and I think that holds solid Tuesday night.

NIU vs UMass SGP

  • Under 43.5
  • UMass +11.5
  • UMass team total Under 15.5

NIU vs UMass odds

  • Spread: NIU -11.5 (-105) | UMass +11.5 (-105)
  • Moneyline: NIU -480 | UMass +370
  • Over/Under: Over 43.5 (-105) | Under 43.5 (-115)

NIU vs UMass trend to know

NIU is 3-0 all-time vs the Minutemen. Find more college football betting trends for NIU vs UMass.

How to watch NIU vs UMass

Location Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium, Amherst, MA
Date Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Kickoff 7:00 p.m. ET
TV ESPNU

NIU vs UMass latest injuries

NIU vs UMass weather

Monitor gametime conditions with our College football weather info.

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Eric Rosales - Covers
Betting Analyst

Eric has been involved in sports media in many different capacities since graduating from journalism school in 1999, back when getting your own column in a newspaper was still considered a thing. He doubled down and graduated from broadcast journalism school five years later, which led to a move to Toronto and a career with The Sports Network (TSN). From behind-the-scenes production work, he moved into the digital realm, where he had his own hoops column (At the Buzzer), while regularly live streaming and chatting with fans during broadcasts as the character known as LeBlog James. He was also a key contributor to TSN and CTV’s Olympic programming during the 2012 London Games.

Eric eventually found his way into the sports betting field in 2016 and has been a mainstay ever since. He was tagged on Twitter as a Top 10 NBA sharp during the 2021 season and has been interviewed about basketball and his handicapping process on shows from Vancouver to India. Eric is now a jack-of-all-sports at Covers, where his predictions span the alphabet soup: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, F1, WNBA, Euro, and Copa.

When making picks, he focuses on finding value first and foremost, and ensuring readers have all the information they need to make an informed choice.

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