Northern Illinois -6½
In the past few weeks, we have had three teams which pretty much had games "circled" dating back to early summer. On Saturday, Eastern Michigan had earmarked their rivalry game with Central Michigan as a "must win" as the game was being featured in front of additional fans at Ford Field, which is the home of the Detroit Lions. Yes, Eastern came through . Two weeks ago, Georgia finally defeated Florida for the first time since 1997 only because the Gators decided to fire their head coach FIVE days before the game. It was also a few weeks ago when the Cincinnati Bengals made their first Monday Night Football Primetime appearance in 12 YEARS, as they whipped the Broncos as a 7-point underdog. Tonight we have another scenario where Northern Illinois has had a game CIRCLED on their calendar the entire season. Let me first give you the scenario tonight in the Mid American Conference. A Northern Illinois victory tonight will clinch the MAC-West Division which would assure the Huskies a spot in the MAC Championship game. The KEY to this selection is that Northern Illinois has NOT been to a Bowl game since way back in 1983, so a win tonight will also earn them a spot in the postseason, because the MAC Conference has two automatic postseason "tie ins" to Bowl contests. Basically, tonight's game is one of the biggest games Northern Illinois has played in well over a decade. Not only can the Huskies pretty much lock up a Bowl bid tonight, they can FINALLY rid themselves of a horrible losing streak to their bitter RIVALS. This evening, Northern Illinois gets to play their FINAL Home game of the season on National TV, with an opportunity to snap a massive TEN GAME losing streak to hated Toledo! I want you all to know that Northern Illinois has already won an ESPN2 TV primetime contest earlier this season when they torched Bowling Green at HOME by an enormous 34-17 final score. For those of you familiar with the MAC Conference, Bowling Green has far and away been the leagues' hottest team, so that ESPN2 victory by Northern Illinois early in the season was extremely impressive. Actually, the Huskies broke onto the National scene last year when they upset Maryland. Also last season, Northern Illinois nearly recovered from a 28-7 halftime deficit, only to come up just short in a game played at Toledo, where the fired-up Huskies covered. Two years ago, it was Toledo who battled back from a 17-0 deficit to pull out a win versus Northern Illinois with less than ONE MINUTE left to play. Do the Huskies have enough firepower to cover tonight's inflated spread??? Consider that they have scored at least 30 POINTS in 6 consecutive contests. In their last game, Garrett Wolfe ran 84 yards for a touchdown, while WR Dan Sheldon hauled in a 78-yard TD pass from SENIOR quarterback Josh Haldi. I want you all to know that Northern Illinois has a grand total of 21 SENIORS who will not only be playing their final home game, but also getting their final shot at "getting over the hump" against a Toledo team that has given them fits in recent seasons. Regular clients know that one of my big handicapping tools when looking at a football game is who will win in the TRENCHES. Consider that Northern Illinois has a VETERAN offensive line that boasts a combined 123 total STARTS! I am personally placing a small additional wager on Northern Illinois to win on the MONEY LINE even though the price is excessive. The reason for that is the Huskies have WON ELEVEN IN A ROW AT HOME (24-3 SU the past 27 attempts). The next KEY to this selection has to do with Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novack who will be directing game #100 tonight as headman of the Huskies. According to Novack, his troops are as HEALTHY as they have been at this stage of the season in the last FOUR YEARS. Tonight, the Huskies get back LB Brian Atkinson, who has been sidlined with a fractured jaw. Atkinson leads all active defenders with 292 tackles, which ranks #22 on the all-time list. Northern Illinois also gets back WR Sam Hurd, who has been battling a thumb fracture. As I told you earlier, RB Garrett Wolfe has averaged a whopping 190 yards per game in the past 6 contests. Thus, there is no question in my mind that Northern Illinois has enough firepower to cover the spread this evening, even though they have lost 10 in a row versus Toledo. There is still an outside shot that the visiting Rockets could make the MAC Title game, but they would have to win tonight AND next week versus the leagues' hottest team (Bowling Green). Actually, Toledo blew their shot at the postseason last Tuesday Night when they committed 4 critical turnovers in a road loss at Miami/Ohio. As I mentioned earlier, tonight is the HOME FINALE for a Northern Illinois squad that has actually had to play 3 of the past 4 contests on the road. Northern Illinois is a dazzling 10-1 ATS SINCE 1992 following a 2-game road trip. The Huskies have COVERED 11 of the last 14 atttempts at home. Meanwhile, Toledo is only 1-5 ATS on the road the past 3 seasons against teams with a WINNING record. It has been 21 YEARS since Northern Illinois has won the MAC Championship. With a victory this evening, they will have an AUTOMATIC berth in the leagues' Title game because they hold the "tie breaker" edge over Bowling Green. Thus, I will make the arguement that tonight is the single biggest game that Northern Illinois has played in the past 21 YEARS. Go Huskies!
GOOD LUCK
In the past few weeks, we have had three teams which pretty much had games "circled" dating back to early summer. On Saturday, Eastern Michigan had earmarked their rivalry game with Central Michigan as a "must win" as the game was being featured in front of additional fans at Ford Field, which is the home of the Detroit Lions. Yes, Eastern came through . Two weeks ago, Georgia finally defeated Florida for the first time since 1997 only because the Gators decided to fire their head coach FIVE days before the game. It was also a few weeks ago when the Cincinnati Bengals made their first Monday Night Football Primetime appearance in 12 YEARS, as they whipped the Broncos as a 7-point underdog. Tonight we have another scenario where Northern Illinois has had a game CIRCLED on their calendar the entire season. Let me first give you the scenario tonight in the Mid American Conference. A Northern Illinois victory tonight will clinch the MAC-West Division which would assure the Huskies a spot in the MAC Championship game. The KEY to this selection is that Northern Illinois has NOT been to a Bowl game since way back in 1983, so a win tonight will also earn them a spot in the postseason, because the MAC Conference has two automatic postseason "tie ins" to Bowl contests. Basically, tonight's game is one of the biggest games Northern Illinois has played in well over a decade. Not only can the Huskies pretty much lock up a Bowl bid tonight, they can FINALLY rid themselves of a horrible losing streak to their bitter RIVALS. This evening, Northern Illinois gets to play their FINAL Home game of the season on National TV, with an opportunity to snap a massive TEN GAME losing streak to hated Toledo! I want you all to know that Northern Illinois has already won an ESPN2 TV primetime contest earlier this season when they torched Bowling Green at HOME by an enormous 34-17 final score. For those of you familiar with the MAC Conference, Bowling Green has far and away been the leagues' hottest team, so that ESPN2 victory by Northern Illinois early in the season was extremely impressive. Actually, the Huskies broke onto the National scene last year when they upset Maryland. Also last season, Northern Illinois nearly recovered from a 28-7 halftime deficit, only to come up just short in a game played at Toledo, where the fired-up Huskies covered. Two years ago, it was Toledo who battled back from a 17-0 deficit to pull out a win versus Northern Illinois with less than ONE MINUTE left to play. Do the Huskies have enough firepower to cover tonight's inflated spread??? Consider that they have scored at least 30 POINTS in 6 consecutive contests. In their last game, Garrett Wolfe ran 84 yards for a touchdown, while WR Dan Sheldon hauled in a 78-yard TD pass from SENIOR quarterback Josh Haldi. I want you all to know that Northern Illinois has a grand total of 21 SENIORS who will not only be playing their final home game, but also getting their final shot at "getting over the hump" against a Toledo team that has given them fits in recent seasons. Regular clients know that one of my big handicapping tools when looking at a football game is who will win in the TRENCHES. Consider that Northern Illinois has a VETERAN offensive line that boasts a combined 123 total STARTS! I am personally placing a small additional wager on Northern Illinois to win on the MONEY LINE even though the price is excessive. The reason for that is the Huskies have WON ELEVEN IN A ROW AT HOME (24-3 SU the past 27 attempts). The next KEY to this selection has to do with Northern Illinois head coach Joe Novack who will be directing game #100 tonight as headman of the Huskies. According to Novack, his troops are as HEALTHY as they have been at this stage of the season in the last FOUR YEARS. Tonight, the Huskies get back LB Brian Atkinson, who has been sidlined with a fractured jaw. Atkinson leads all active defenders with 292 tackles, which ranks #22 on the all-time list. Northern Illinois also gets back WR Sam Hurd, who has been battling a thumb fracture. As I told you earlier, RB Garrett Wolfe has averaged a whopping 190 yards per game in the past 6 contests. Thus, there is no question in my mind that Northern Illinois has enough firepower to cover the spread this evening, even though they have lost 10 in a row versus Toledo. There is still an outside shot that the visiting Rockets could make the MAC Title game, but they would have to win tonight AND next week versus the leagues' hottest team (Bowling Green). Actually, Toledo blew their shot at the postseason last Tuesday Night when they committed 4 critical turnovers in a road loss at Miami/Ohio. As I mentioned earlier, tonight is the HOME FINALE for a Northern Illinois squad that has actually had to play 3 of the past 4 contests on the road. Northern Illinois is a dazzling 10-1 ATS SINCE 1992 following a 2-game road trip. The Huskies have COVERED 11 of the last 14 atttempts at home. Meanwhile, Toledo is only 1-5 ATS on the road the past 3 seasons against teams with a WINNING record. It has been 21 YEARS since Northern Illinois has won the MAC Championship. With a victory this evening, they will have an AUTOMATIC berth in the leagues' Title game because they hold the "tie breaker" edge over Bowling Green. Thus, I will make the arguement that tonight is the single biggest game that Northern Illinois has played in the past 21 YEARS. Go Huskies!
GOOD LUCK