Northern Illinois vs Miami-Ohio Odds
Written by Matthew Martz - Google +
The 14th MAC Championship Game in history features two teams looking for rare conference success. The Huskies of Northern Illinois are seeking their first conference title game victory, having lost in their only other appearance back in 2005. A victory would complete an undefeated conference schedule and their first MAC title since 1983.
For the Red Hawks of Miami, they are playing in the title game for the fourth time in the last eight years, but seeking just their second conference championship victory to go along with their win over Bowling Green in 2003. They’ve lost on neutral sites in 2004 to Toledo and 2007 to Central Michigan.
The Huskies and Red Hawks have met 14 times in their history, and have evenly split the series seven games apiece. However, NIU has won the last five consecutive meetings with Miami, including last season’s 27-22 regular season meeting in Oxford.
According to the odds for the game, Northern Illinois is favored by 16½ points against Miami with an over/under set at 54 points.
The Huskies enter this game with one of the premiere running backs in the nation in Chad Spann. He ranks 16th in the entire country entering play this weekend in rushing yards with 1,239 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He has scored 20 rushing touchdowns, which puts him ahead of names such as Cameron Newton, LaMichael James, and all the rest atop the entire country.
Third year head coach Jerry Kill came to NIU from Southern Illinois and has continued the NIU tradition of churning the ball on the ground towards success. The Huskies is tied with Nevada in rushing yards per attempt average, leading the nation at 6.4 yards per carry as a team. Quarterback Chandler Harnish has been equally adept at running the football for the Huskies, gaining 761 yards, and scoring five rushing touchdowns himself. Throwing the football, Harnish has added 1,949 yards in the air and 17 touchdown tosses while completing 66 percent of his passes. NIU’s leading receiver is Willie Clark with 34 receptions and 444 yards along with six touchdown grabs.
The defense has four players with 60-plus tackles on the season, led by linebacker Alex Kube with 68. Jake Coffman leads the defense with 4 ½ quarterback sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
For the Red Hawks, they have won four straight down the stretch to make it to the title tile. In their four straight victories leading up to this contest, Miami has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 87-47, and they held the Owls to just three points last week. Head coach Mike Haywood has built success in just his second season running the program, a program that has produced great college coaches such as Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and Ara Parseghian.
Miami is led by quarterback Zac Dysert, who has thrown for 2,406 passing yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 64.7 percent of his passes. Thomas Merriweather leads the rushing attack with 736 yards and eight touchdowns.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Northern Illinois 40 – Miami Ohio 27
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