Northern Illinois College Football Betting Preview

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2014

Northern Illinois

College Football

Betting Preview

Odds and Schedule

Northern Illinois has a glaring problem heading into this season which was to be expected with Jordan Lynch (47 total TDs) gone after his senior season. However, with a decent amount of returning starters, the Huskies are still one of the favorites to win the MAC.

Coach Rod Carey has already said he’ll wait until close to the season opener to name the starting quarterback. That doesn’t exactly show a bunch of confidence in the three vying for the position, especially after they all struggled in the spring Game. The good news is that the rest of the offense will be loaded with playmakers and experience.

First off, the offensive line returns Four starters which automatically makes them one of the best in the conference. Even with Lynch gone (1,920 rushing yards), running backs Cameron Stingily (1,119 yards) and Akeem Daniels (injured last year) will provide a nice one-two punch out of the backfield. And to help out the new quarterback, last year’s top to receivers are back in Da’Ron Brown (752 yards, 9 TDs) and Tommylee Lewis (86 receptions). Even if the QB can’t pass that well, this team should still be able to run behind a solid offensive line.

The defense will also be a work in progress and only returns five starters. All Four linemen will be new, so stopping the run and getting to the QB may be a problem. The Huskies’ strong suit is at linebacker with Jamaal Bass and Boomer Mays leading the way. The secondary loses two corners and an All-MAC safety, but the new guys won’t be as fresh as the line.

While NIU’s first Game is easy, the next three aren’t and breaking in a new quarterback with three straight road non-Conference Games is probably not what Rod Carey wanted. They could all turn into losses at Northwestern, UNLV and Arkansas.

They follow those road Games up with a couple more back-to-back road tests in MAC play. LUckily for the Huskies, their Conference Schedule is somewhat favorable outside of having to play Ball State on the road. That Game could end up deciding the West division, as the Cardinals also have to break in a new quarterback.

OUtside of that, Northern Illinois is in good shape to win all of their home Games this year, although there are only five of them. Another season in the MAC championship Game wouldn’t be all that surprising given the non-QB threats on offense.

The Huskies will definitely regress in wins and could only make it to the seven or eight range, mostly because of the difficult non-Conference late.

Check out 5 dimes sportsbook for the latest MAC odds for the 2014 season.

2014 Northern Illinois Football Schedule

Aug. 28 vs. Presbyterian
Sept. 6 at Northwestern
Sept. 13 at UNLV
Sept. 20 at Arkansas
Oct. 4 vs. Kent State
Oct. 11 vs. Central Michigan
Oct. 18 vs. Miami (OH)
Oct. 25 at Eastern Michigan
Nov. 5 at Ball State
Nov. 11 vs. Toledo
Nov. 18 at Ohio
Nov. 28 at Western Michigan

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