Northern Illinois vs. Central Michigan Prediction: Can We Trust the Chippewas?
The first game of MACtion is finally here. Both of these teams have had up and down seasons to this point and Northern Illinois is coming off a less than stellar performance against Eastern Michigan. How will they fare tonight on the road against the Chippewas? Let's break it down.
Joey Ruiz - October 31, 2023, 3:52 PM EDT
7 minNorthern Illinois vs. Central Michigan Prediction: Can We Trust the Chippewas?
Northern Illinois enters this game with a record of 4-4 and are currently on a three-game winning streak over Akron, Ohio, and Eastern Michigan. The Huskies have been getting it done on the defensive end to spur this winning streak as they have not allowed more than 14 points over their last three games.
Northern Illinois vs. Central Michigan Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: October 31, 2023
- Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPNU
Northern Illinois vs. Central Michigan Prediction
On the season to this point, Northern Illinois is ranked 40th in opponent points per play, 25th in opponent yards per play (4.8), and 22nd in yards allowed per game (326). These are very impressive numbers for a MAC team considering they have already played Nebraska and both Toledo and Ohio, who are two of the top teams in the conference.
The strength of the NIU defense so far has been in their secondary as they are ranked 11th in the nation in opponent yards per passing attempt (5.9) and fourth in passing yards allowed per game (166). NIU's main struggled on the defensive side of the ball have come when defending the run as they are allowing 4.3 yards per rush (75th).
This Central Michigan squad has had some success this year on the ground as they ran for 125 yards against South Alabama in a huge upset win and they were also able to run the ball well against Notre Dame as they totaled 131 rushing yards against the Fighting Irish. Another thing that Central Michigan has done well this year is bounce back after poor performances. They have yet to lose two games in a row this season and are also undefeated at home on the year (3-0).
While Central Michigan is 3-0 straight up at home, interesting enough they are also 0-3 ATS in those games as they were all close. Central Michigan defeated New Hampshire by three as -7.5-point favorites, Eastern Michigan by three as 10-point favorites, and Akron by seven as 10.5-point favorites. Another common theme with these games is that they did not trail at halftime in any of them and actually had leads at half time against New Hampshire and EMU before nearly blowing those games in the second half.
Central Michigan has been a better team at home this season and I believe Northern Illinois is due for some negative regression after three straight up wins and a row and going 3-1 ATS in their last four. Northern Illinois has also struggled a bit as betting favorites this season as they are just 1-3 ATS as favs this season including straight up losses to Southern Illinois as 8.5-point favorites and to Tulsa as four-point favorites.
I believe Central Michigan plays up tonight as they have shown the ability to get for games as an underdog evidenced by their straight up win over South Alabama as 14.5-point favs and by covering the first half as underdogs against Notre Dame and Michigan State.
With that being said, I am rolling with Central Michigan 1H +3 at -105 for 1.5U as my most confident college football play of the day for tonight's action. I am also rolling with the Full Game Under 46.5 at -107 for 1.5U as I think this will be a fairly low scoring game. Both teams are in the bottom 40 in seconds per play on offense and both teams have an above average rushing rate.
Northern Illinois vs. Central Michigan Pick
- 1.5u Central Michigan 1H +3 (-105) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
- 1.5u Full Game Under 46.5 (-107) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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