Game Time: Noon ET, Saturday, December 4th, 2021

Venue: Husky Stadium, Dekalb, Illinois

Where to Watch:  ESPN

 

DraftKings Sportsbook:  Spread: Kent State -2.5; O/U 73.5

Caesars:  Spread: Kent State -2.5; O/U 73

VegasInsider:  Spread: Kent State -3; O/U 73.5

 

Kent State: 6-2 conf, 7-5 overall (MAC)

Northern Illinois: 6-2 conf, 8-4 overall (MAC)

Northern Illinois is 2.5-3 point underdogs… and the total points are set at 73-73.5.  At this time of the college football season we have seen these teams in matchups versus a variety of opponents.  Every stat is as accurate as it is going to get…. Still, to buy this O/U number you would have to believe there will be no defense on the field.  A 38 - 32 finish would be an UNDER!  That is a lot of scoring to expect from not one but both teams on offense!  At quick glance I would take the Under, just knowing that turnovers, takeaways and giveaways could milk this clock enough to make 73 points impossible…. However we must look at the stats to see if that quick glance is right?... and maybe NIU could win outright in MAC play… Let’s see.

 

Al McMordie's 9-2 his last 11 College Hoops after cashing Arkansas State yesterday (part of a 3-3 Sunday). Big Al looks to move his red-hot NCAA Basketball streak to 10-2 with this NCAA Hoops Elite Info Winner out of a sensational 44-16 ATS angle. Get Monday's #1 Play right now, and ABSOLUTELY ANNIHILATE your Book today! Get Big Al’s pick!!  It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. All your NCAA basketball needs for the entire college basketball season!

Kent State is 7-5 on the season, but 6-6 ATS.  They have logged 5 Overs and 7 Unders.  They are a lousy 2-5 in road games.  Last game Kent State beat Miami of Ohio 48-47 in overtime… for a win and a win ATS… the week before they trounced Akron 38-0 for a win and a win ATS (-13.5)... but November wasn’t all peaches and cream as Central Michigan pummeled the Golden Flashes the week before 54-30 for a loss and a loss ATS… and then we get to what all these big numbers and small spread is based on… The last time Kent State played NIU was just Nov 3rd… and it was an all out shootout!  Kents State won that game 52-47… Kent State covered the spread and went 27 points over the O/U number.  The final total points was 99!!

Northern Illinois is 8-4 on the season, but 7-4-1 ATS.  They have notched 7 Overs and 5 Unders.  They are a decent 4-2 in home games.  The Huskies lost last week to Western Michigan 42-21 for a loss and a loss against their +7 spread.

The Kent State stats has them ranked 8th in offense in the entire FBS.  They pull down 490.5 ypg and have scored 49 total touchdowns on the season.  The Golden Flashes are 3rd in rushing offense with 247.2 ypg… they drop to 57th in passing offense with 243.2 ypg.  That is greatest balance for a college football team.  It literally means they caen hit you two ways and keep going with the opposite of what you try to stop.

NIU tries to control the time of possession in every game they are in.  They are 49th in total offense in the FBS with 426.5 ypg and 42 touchdowns scored on the season.  They are a proud 5th in rushing offense!  They gain 231.5 ypg rushing…. Of course North Texas is 4th in the FBS in rushing so it may not be everything if they don’t have the passing numbers to back it up…. So, NIU is 99th in the FBS in passing offense.. They gain 195 ypg passing.  That’s not great or at least nowhere as good as Kent State’s passing.

Kent State is lousy on defense!  For all those offensive stats Kent State ranks a low 124th in the FBS (there are only 130 teams) on defense.  They give up 474.6 ypg and have allowed 53 TDs!  

NIU is barely better… On defense NIU ranks 114th… they give up 452.4 ypg and have allowed 52 TDs.  Not promising.

Our prediction for Saturday, December 4th, is…  Kent State 49 - NIU 38

The bet turns out to be Kent State to cover… with the Over.  Neither of these teams are capable of stopping each other.  Kent State is capable of scoring more.  This happens a lot in the MAC where the focus of every team in recruiting is on offense and defense ends up being just barely capable of staying on the field.

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Kent State is 9-4 ATS as a favorite the last 3 seasons.

Kent State is 13-5 ATS after playing a conference game the last 3 seasons.

Kent State is 5-1 ATS as a favorite this season.

Kent State: QB Dustin Crum, RB Marquez Cooper, TE Aaron hackett, WR Dante Cephas, WR Ja’Shaun Poke, WR Nykeim Johnson, LT Bill Kuduk, LG Adam Gregoire, OC Jack Clement, RG Nathan Monnin, RT Daniel Johnson

NIU: QB Rocky Lombardi, RB Jay Ducker, FB Clint Rakovich, TE Miles Joiner, WR Messiah Travis, WR Trayvon Rudolph, WR Mohamed Toure, LT Marques Cox, LG J.J. Lippe, OC Braydon Patton, RG Logan Zschernitz, RT Nolan Potter

Kent State

Passing Yards: Dustin Crum 2,794

Rushing Yards: Marquez Cooper 1,075

Receptions: Dante Cephas 71 for 1,022 yards

Tackles: Dean Clark 91

Interceptions: Montre Miller 4

Northern Illinois

Passing Yards: Rocky Lombardi 2,314

Rushing Yards: Jay Ducker 892

Receiving Yards: Trayvon Rudolph 827

Tackles: CJ Brown 93

Interceptions: Jaden Dolphin 1

Kent State:  Sean Lewis.  Coach Lewis is a 35 year old who is winning at life.  He has a $440,000 yearly salary to be a college football head coach.  He has 4 seasons under his belt at Kent State that has produced a 19-22 record.  Record aside, he took over a bad program and made it better.  Bigger programs will come looking for him.  This year was his first MAC East championship and he finds himself in the MAC championship game.  As resumes go… this is a growing one.

Northern Illinois: Thomas Hammock.  Coach Hammock is finishing his 3rd season.  He took over a middle of the road MAC team and worked it into a his first MAC West Championship.  He is 40 years old and also in line for bigger jobs if he gets this MAC championship.  His NIU record is 12-17… but there was an 0-6 season when Covid hit… so it could be better.