Ball State at Northern Illinois Odds

Written by Jack Jones

The Northern Illinois Huskies look to continue their recent surge when they host the Ball State Cardinals Tuesday night on ESPNU. The Huskies have won the last two meetings, and seven of the last 10 in this series overall. They beat Ball State 59-21 on the road last season in their most recent head-to-head battle. Northern Illinois outgained the Cardinals 444-268 for the game. Quarterback Chandler Harnish threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns with one interception to lead the way for the Huskies.

According to the early college football lines, Northern Illinois is a 17-point favorite over Ball State.

Northern Illinois

The Huskies are certainly in great position to get back to the MAC title game a year after losing to Miami (Ohio) in the championship. Northern Illinois (7-3, 5-1 MAC) sits in a first-place tie with the Toledo Rockets thanks to a recent five-game winning streak heading into this one. They own the tiebreaker over Toledo after winning a 63-60 thriller two weeks ago. The Huskies extended their streak to five with a 45-14 road win at Bowling Green last Tuesday.

Leading 24-14 at intermission, the Huskies went on to outscore the Falcons 21-0 in the second half to run away with the victory. Harnish threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 151 yards and another score. They outgained Bowling Green 623-334 for the game in an absolutely dominant performance in all areas. Harnish went over 1,000 rushing yards for the season, becoming the first Northern Illinois quarterback to do so since Stacy Robinson back in 1990.

Northern Illinois ranks 11th in the country in total offense (486.2 yards/game), including 9th in rushing (250.4 yards/game). But they are just 97th in total defense (438.8 yards/game), allowing 190.5 yards on the ground and 248.3 through the air. Harnish is completing 62.9 percent of his passes for 2,256 yards with 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 1,022 yards and nine scores, while Jasmin Hopkins (726 yards, 13 touchdowns) is second.

Ball State

After going 4-8 a year ago, the Cardinals are quietly having a solid season as they have officially become bowl eligible. Ball State (6-4, 4-2 MAC) is sitting in third place in the West division, just one game behind both Northern Illinois and Toledo. They have had three extra days to prepare for the Huskies after last playing on November 5th. The Cardinals won at Eastern Michigan 33-31, which was their third win in four games.

Despite getting outgained 501-375 by the Eagles, Ball State was able to come away with the victory thanks to a 44-yard field goal from Steven Schott with just 9 seconds remaining. They had trailed 31-30 after a 20-yard field goal by EMU with 1:18 to play. The Cardinals benefited from an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on their game-winning drive, and quarterback Keith Wenning completed four short passes to set up Schott’s fourth field goal make of the game. Wenning finished with 284 passing yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

Ball State is certainly fortunate to have six wins on the season considering they rank just 71st in total offense (376.0 yards/game) and 113th in total defense (490.7 yards/game). They have managed to go 2-2 on the road this season with their only losses coming against then-No. 22 South Florida and then-No. 2 Oklahoma. Wenning is completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,233 yards with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His favorite target is Briggs Osbon, who has 52 receptions for 498 yards and four touchdowns on the year. Jahwan Edwards leads the team in rushing with 681 yards and 10 scores.

Betting Trends

The Cardinals are 30-11 ATS in their last 41 road games, including 23-8 ATS in their last 31 games as a road underdog.

The Huskies are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games, but just 5-11 ATS in their last 16 vs. a team with a winning record.

If you want winning advice in this MAC battle, then turn to expert handicapper Jack Jones who is 4-0 on his Tuesday college football picks this season.

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