Featured Game: Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Maryland Terrapins (-17.5 / 46.5 under -112)
Time: 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
Television: BTN, FOX One
It will have been 363 days between the biggest program win in Northern Illinois history and Friday night’s kickoff in College Park against Maryland. The win I’m referring to was last September 7th, when the Huskies shocked the College Football World, with a 16-14 upset of then fifth-ranked Notre Dame, giving the Irish their only loss until the National Championship game in January.
This Huskies squad, still led by HC Thomas Hammock, will look to grab another “Boneyard” victory (the Mid-American Conference’s term for wins against the Power 4 Conferences) as they battle a Big Ten club in Maryland, who despite winning 39-7 last week against lowly Florida Atlantic, the Terrapins benefited from a Pick-6, along with barely any defensive pressure felt for freshman QB Malik Washington, who threw 3 TD’s without a sack or interception.
NIU eked out a 19-17 win over FCS power Holy Cross, in a sloppy game for both sides, mainly due to some early issues on special teams for the Huskies. Once things were cleaned up, Northern’s offense was good for over 280 yards in total on the day. The Huskies have fared well as road underdogs, with a 17-5 clip dating back several seasons. While this doesn’t seem like an outright spot to cash with the kids from DeKalb, I do like the visitors catching the big number to cover on Friday night in Crab Country.
Pick: Northern Illinois Huskies (+17½ -110)
