The Western Michigan Broncos take on the Northern Illinois Huskies in DeKalb, Ill. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Western Michigan is favored by 6.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -230. Northern Illinois, meanwhile, enters as a +6.5 underdog and is +190 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 38.5 total points.
Here’s my Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois prediction and college football picks for Tuesday, November 18.
Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Prediction, Picks
- Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois Pick: Northern Illinois Team Total Under 16.5
My Northern Illinois vs. Western Michigan best bet is on the Huskies' Team Totals Points. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Odds, Spread, Line
| Western Michigan Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7 -105 | 38.5 -112o / -108u | -258 |
| Northern Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7 -115 | 38.5 -112o / -108u | +210 |
- Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Spread: Western Michigan -7, Northern Illinois +7
- Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Over/Under: 38.5
- Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Moneyline: Western Michigan ML -258, Northern Illinois ML +210
Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois NCAAF Preview
Western Michigan Broncos Betting Preview
Western Michigan is in strong control of the MAC and controls its own destiny to reach the MAC Championship game in December.
The Broncos have utilized a lockdown defense that's giving up just 11.5 points per game in league play to fuel the run.
Last week, WMU controlled the line of scrimmage and frustrated Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro, giving up just 70 passing yards.
Week in and week out, WMU validates its status as the top defensive team in the MAC. I expect a strong performance out of this unit again this week against Northern Illinois.
The WMU offense isn't going to wow anyone, as the Broncos rank 131st nationally in Offensive Success Rate and Finishing Drives.
The passing offense is limited, with Broc Lowry throwing for just 1,440 yards with seven passing touchdowns. The ground game, meanwhile, is serviceable but not overly explosive.
I expect heavy run action here against Northern Illinois on Tuesday night.
Northern Illinois Huskies Betting Preview
NIU comes in off a big win in its best offensive performance of the season on the road against UMass last week. The Huskies exploded for 45 points, more than double their previous highest output in any game this season.
Making the switch to Jalen Macon at quarterback added a new element in the run game, and NIU also found some explosiveness in the pass game against the Minutemen.
However, it'll be tougher sledding against Western Michigan this week.
The NIU defense hasn’t played too badly, but it has struggled when playing the top teams in the MAC. The Huskies don’t have much of a pass rush and have registered just 13 sacks and 39 tackles for loss.
NIU struggles to get off the field on third down, but it has performed well in the red zone, allowing touchdowns on just 58% of opponent trips inside the 20-yard line.
The Huskies rank 107th in EPA Per Play allowed and 125th in Rushing Success Rate allowed, so they might struggle to contain the WMU rushing attack here.
Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois NCAAF Pick to Bet
I know everyone loved what they saw from the NIU offense last week, but I'm not buying into them having much success after lighting it up against the worst team in FBS. I'm going to take the Northern Illinois team total under 16.5.
Western Michigan has been rock-solid defensively all season, allowing 3.6 yards per carry on the ground and 121 rushing yards per game.
Northern Illinois runs the ball on 65% of its snaps, but it ranks just 125th nationally in Rushing Success Rate. The Huskies have only combined to throw for 1,011 passing yards this season and are not equipped to attack WMU’s secondary.
The Huskies are going to struggle to move the football here. NIU has converted just 32% of third-down attempts this season, and it comes in at 127th in Points Per Scoring Opportunity.
I'm not confident the Huskies have found enough cohesiveness offensively to have success against a competent defense.
Western Michigan ranks 40th nationally in Success Rate allowed and 19th in red-zone scoring. The Broncos can shut down this NIU offense, and we'll see the Huskies look much like they have all season prior to last week.
Offensively, WMU ranks 57th in Rushing Success Rate and should be able to move the football with the duo of Lowry and Jalen Buckley toting the rock.
I fully expect this game to be lower-scoring and for WMU to control the time of possession and play the field-position game in the second half.
This game will be close throughout, but I expect the Western Michigan defense to be the best unit on the field and lock it down in this important conference game.
Pick: Northern Illinois Team Total Under 16.5
Western Michigan vs Northern Illinois Trend to Know
