Northern Illinois Huskies vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/05/2026

Game Time: 4:15 pm ET, Saturday, September 5, 2026

Venue:  Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, IA 

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  NIU +31.5, Iowa -31.5; Over/Under:  45.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  NIU +31.5, Iowa -31.5; Over/Under:  45.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  NIU +31.5, Iowa -31.5; Over/Under:  45.5 points

Northern Illinois Huskies:  0-0 (0-0) (MWC)

Iowa Hawkeyes:  0-0 (0-0) (Big Ten)

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Northern Illinois Huskies:  N/A

Iowa Hawkeyes:  N/A

Northern Illinois finished last season with a 3-9 record overall and they had a 2-6 record in their conference games too.  They were 2-4 in their home games, 1-5 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 17.1 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 24.3 points per game. Their offense also averaged 285.9 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 357.3 yards per game. Josh Holst led the team in passing yards with 689, Chavon Wright led the team in rushing yards with 875, and DeAree Rogers led the team in receiving yards with 506.

 

 

 

Iowa finished last season with a 9-4 record overall and they had a 6-3 record in their conference games too.  They were 5-2 in their home games, 3-2 in their road games, and they were also 1-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 29.3 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 16.1 points per game. Their offense also averaged 320.1 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 280.4 yards per game. Mark Gronowski led the team in passing yards with 1,741, Kamari Moulton led the team in rushing yards with 878, and DJ Vonnahme led the team in receiving yards with 434.

The current betting odds have Northern Illinois listed as a 31.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Northern Illinois is coming off a terrible season, going 3-9 overall and they were one of the worst teams in the MAC too. That season was an anomaly for them though, usually being a lot better in their own conference, and now they will be looking to make a splash this season being in a new conference now. They have moved to the MWC now which is a step up from where they were, so they will be looking to have a much better season. Their offense was terrible last year, but their offense is going to improve this year and they are always a team with a solid defense too. Meanwhile, Iowa is coming off a good season going 9-4. They weren't at the top of the Big Ten, but they were right on the cusp of being a top team and they have been a really consistent team in the Big Ten over the years. Their offense wasn't great last season, but their offense is never that good as they pride themselves on playing great defense. They had one of the best defenses in the nation last year and that has been a common theme for them over the years. That defense is going to continue to have success this season as they will lean more on those players, but Iowa has never been a team that scores a lot of points and they aren't the kind of team to blow out opponents either. They had a much better QB last season too, so the offense isn't going to improve that much and NIU does have a decent defense to hold Iowa at bay. Northern Illinois will have trouble moving the ball here, but they don't need to score a lot here to still cover that spread since this is a really large number for a team like Iowa. The best way to place a bet here is on Northern Illinois to cover the spread in this game. 

Northern Illinois Iowa Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 5, 2026 (4:15 pm ET start time) is Iowa 31 NIU 10.

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Northern Illinois Huskies: 8-14 ATS against FBS division opponents. 4-7 ATS as an underdog. 5-9 ATS when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 7-2 UNDER in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 49.

Iowa Hawkeyes: 14-8 ATS against FBS division opponents. 8-5 ATS in home lined games. 13-7 ATS in games played on turf. 7-2 UNDER when the total is between 42.5 and 49.

Northern Illinois Huskies:  None.

Iowa Hawkeyes:  None.

"I thought it was a good, workman like mentality this week. We're trying to stress competing with one another and really understand the game of football and situations. What do I need to do to win this play? That's irrelevant to who you're playing. I've got to win this situation and that's what we've stressed. I thought we did that, which makes you less emotional. I didn't think there was any real emotional penalties for the most part and that's a sign we're playing with our minds rather than our emotions." - Rob Harley on his team coming into this new college football season. 

“It goes back and forth, kind of life you’d expect. It’s been really (too) close to call, and we’ll see where it all goes. We’ll probably have to make a decision here, sometime sooner than later, but I could easily see both guys playing until we get our feet on the ground.” - Kirk Ferentz on his team’s QB competition coming into this new CFB season.

WR Thompson, Cam

WR Dimopoulos, George

WR Rogers, DeAree

TE Fowler, Jason

QB Dickens, Taron

RB Johnson Jr., Telly

WR Vander Zee, Reece 

WR Diaz, Tony

WR James, Evan

TE Vonnahme, DJ

QB Hecklinski, Jeremy

RB Moulton, Kamari

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Northern Illinois Huskies: Rob Harley (1st season)

Iowa Hawkeyes: Kirk Ferentz (28th season)