Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Huskies Roar Against Chippewas

Get ready, football fans — midweek MACtion is back on the college football odds board.

It’s the best time of the year for some diehards as non-stop football rumbles on, Halloween night or not! Two four-win teams look to get above .500 on the year as the Northern Illinois Huskies visit the Central Michigan Chippewas to get the party started. 

The Huskies have a chance to compete in the West Division as they’ve lost only once in conference play, although they’d need some things to go their way as they lost to the Toledo Rockets, who are undefeated atop the division and hold the tiebreaker.  

Thomas Hammock’s group has been impressive enough this season that I’m not too concerned with a trip to Mount Pleasant on Halloween night. See what I’m playing for my best bet in my free college football picks for Northern Illinois vs. Central Michigan on October 31. 

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan best odds

Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan picks and predictions

Has there been a more up-and-down team in the country than Northern Illinois across the last few seasons? Thomas Hammock went 5-13 across his first two seasons as head coach before rattling off nine wins and a shocking MAC Championship in 2021. Naturally, the Huskies followed that breakthrough campaign with a disappointing 3-9 finish a year ago. 

That left Hammock’s squad in limbo heading into this season — would they bounce back, or was 2021 a flash in the pan? Early returns indicate the roller coaster is continuing with this being an “up” year as NIU is 3-1 in MAC play.

The Huskies have improved drastically defensively after surrendering 32.8 points per game a year ago. That number is down to 21.2 ppg and they’re allowing just 310.4 total yards per game on 4.9 yards per play. The advanced metrics appealingly paint this defense as well — the Huskies check in at 40th in EPA per play and have thrived off limiting big plays, ranking second in explosiveness allowed. 

The offense is led by sixth-year senior quarterback Rocky Lombardi, although all eyes will be on the health of running back Antario Brown after he left the Huskies’ last game in the third quarter with an injury. 

Hammock’s squad faces a Central Michigan team coached by Jim McElwain, who has a 28-25 record across five years with the Chippewas. CMU is generally one of the more talented teams in the MAC and is no bottom dweller despite McElwain’s seeming inability to find a breakthrough during his time in the conference. 

McElwain has a star dual threat in Bert Emanuel Jr., but he’s played just four games this season and hasn’t gotten any playing time in the last month. Whether it's because of injury or other reasons, this offense is struggling under Jase Bauer as it hasn’t reached 300 total yards in two straight. 

NIU has been better on both sides of the ball this season, so I agree with the line movement in its direction. Even if Brown is unable to go, Iowa transfer Gavin Williams is as strong of a No. 2 back as you’ll see in this conference, and the Huskies should be able to move the ball against a woeful CMU defense (128th in EPA per play) that has huge issues against the rush (117th in EPA per rush, 126th in rushing success rate).

The Chippewas have been cratering offensively and I’m not giving too much credence to their 3-0 home record this season, considering two of those came against poor conference opponents and the other was on a last-second field goal against an FCS school. This is a betting preview, after all, and CMU is 0-3 ATS, failing to cover in all three wins. 

I’ve seen a lot to like for the Huskies and little to offer encouragement from the Chippewas. NIU is best when it's able to get its ground game going and that figures to be the case in this spot. 

My best bet: Northern Illinois -3.5 (-110 at bet365)
Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan same-game parlay

Northern Illinois -3.5

Under 44.5

+224 at FanDuel

Both of these teams want to run the ball, which should keep the clock running at Mount Pleasant. The Huskies have a clear identity offensively and that involves keeping the chains moving behind a strong ground game that has managed 203 rushing yards per game in conference play while finding the endzone 10 times across four games. 

On the CMU side of things, it’s difficult to project it to score many points against a Huskies defense that has surrendered no more than 14 points to any of its last four non-Toledo opponents.

The clock should be moving consistently in this matchup as NIU runs the ball on offense while being vulnerable to that same approach defensively (113th in rushing success rate, 133rd in stuff rate). It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Chippewas have enough success running the ball that they move the chains a bit here while failing to light up the scoreboard. 

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan spread and Over/Under analysis

NIU opened at -1.5 but received enough love in the market to balloon out to -3.5 as of writing. The total has also been on the move, opening at 47.5 but moving down to 44.5. As you can tell by my SGP above, I agree with both movements. 

The Huskies' offense is working this season, scoring the most points per game in MAC play while ranking second in total offense. They've scored 16 TDs in conference games against Toledo, Akron, Ohio, and Eastern Michigan. Still, NIU's identity has been centered around a strong defense that is posting its lowest ppg allowed since 2010.

Hammock’s team has been the better team on both sides of the ball this season as there are not a lot of positive things to say about the Chippewas. They’ve allowed at least 5.3 yards per play defensively in every game except for against 1-7 Akron, and the offense is averaging just 17.5 ppg in conference play. 

CMU returned just four starters offensively to a group that ranked 125th in standard downs success rate a year ago, so it’s unsurprising that it’s been a challenge to move the ball. It’d be hard for me to play anything but an Under with CMU totals, although the current line is more accurate than the opener. 

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan betting trend to know

CMU is 0-3 ATS at home this season. Find more college football betting trends for Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan.

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan game info

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan latest injuries

Northern Illinois vs Central Michigan weather

Monitor gametime conditions with our College football weather info.

Stay updated with the latest picks, odds, and news! Tap the to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.

Pages related to this topic