Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois – College Football Predictions
The Game
Ouch. The Eagles come to town riding a 5-game losing streak but they have all been close (7,4,5,1,3). They are a solid football team but are in grave danger of missing bowl season which would be a shame. The Huskies finally managed to blow the doors off someone last week but that was Bowling Green. It’s MACtion, baby. Let’s goooooooooo !
The Details
Northern Illinois -7 Eastern Michigan (44.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Northern Illinois -7
Sagarin Ratings – Northern Illinois -10
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Northern Illinois 25.75 Eastern Michigan 18.75
Massey Ratings Projected Score: Northern Illinois 21 Eastern Michigan 14
The Match-Up
Northern Illinois offense vs Eastern Michigan defense
The Huskies appear to be building nicely in advance of their YUUUGE games down the stretch. QB Marcus Childers has completed over 60% of his passes whilst only throwing 1 INT in 87 attempts. He also has nice mobility. RB Jordan Huff is a legit #1 RB but MEGALOCKS MACTION INJURY INSIDERS note that he is questionable as we go to press. That likely explains the slight line drop to -7. The Eastern Michigan defense has been rock solid all season and have not allowed more than 28 points (!) in any game. They held Toledo to just 20 points on the road. It feels like Northern Illinois is going to have to grind out drives the old-fashioned way in this one.
Eastern Michigan offense vs Northern Illinois defense
QB Brogan Roback is a good one but he has thrown a few too many interceptions (10-8 TD to INT ratio) for our liking. That is bad news going up against one of the best (THE best ?) secondaries in the MAC and FREAK DL Sutton Smith. The running game has not been able to get on track as the top three RBs are averaging just 4.1, 3.6 and 3.8 yards per carry. They have two really good WRs in Sergio Bailey and Antoine Porter and those men will have to do WORK to keep Eastern Michigan in the game. Northern Illinois plays great defense (#12 FBS) and are going to be really tough at home against a team that cannot run the ball effectively.
MEGA-MAZING MINUTIA
Eastern Michigan has to find 4 more wins (5 games) to reach bowl eligibility…….The under is on a SMOKING HOT 15-3 run in the last 18 Eastern Michigan games.
Summary
Tough call on the spread. You KNOW we really like this Northern Illinois team but worry about their ability to sustain offense against a tough and scrappy defense. If they protect the football they should be able to grind out a win. We do worry a bit about a Northern Illinois looking ahead to the big game with Toledo.
Conclusion
Lean under 44.5 for small potatoes.