The Northern Illinois Huskies and the Akron Zips meet Saturday in college football action from InfoCision Stadium. Northern Illinois just finished up against Toledo over the weekend. The Huskies ended up taking a tough two-point loss. As for Akron, they’re coming off a matchup against Buffalo. The Zips would go on to fall by three points in overtime. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Northern Illinois Huskies 

The Huskies got off to a good start this year, powering out a 27-24 overtime road win over Boston College. Northern Illinois hit the skids over the next three games though, falling 14-11 to Southern Illinois, 35-11 to Nebraska and 22-14 to Tulsa to fall to 1-3 on the year. NIU’s Ethan Hampton threw for 97 yards, one score and two picks in the loss to the Golden Hurricane. 

Back on Saturday versus Toledo, the Huskies had a good second half with 26 points but couldn’t keep the pace in a 35-33 loss. Rocky Lombardi posted 258 yards and a pair of scores, while Antario Brown led the rush with 152 yards. Kacper Rutkiewicz caught five balls for a team-high 45 receiving yards. 

Northern Illinois Huskies Team Facts

Northern Illinois has lost each of its last eight games as a favorite.
Northern Illinois has failed to cover the spread in each of its last nine games as a favorite against non-AP-ranked teams.
Northern Illinois has lost the first half in each of its last six games against conference opponents.
Six of Northern Illinois’ last seven games as a road favorite have gone OVER the total points line.

Akron Zips 

Over on the Akron side, they kicked off their 2023 campaign with a tough loss 24-21 versus Temple. The Zips would get their first win of the year by that same score the next week against Morgan State, but game three was another loss 35-3 versus Kentucky. Akron was able to trade punches with Indiana in a road game September 23, but lost 29-27 in overtime. 

Matched up against Buffalo in their last outing, the Zips held a 10-7 lead at the break but couldn’t score from there in a 13-10 loss. Quarterback DJ Irons finished with 136 yards and a TD, also leading the rush on 77 yards. Tops in receiving was Myles Walker with four catches for 40 yards. 

Akron Zips Team Facts

Akron has lost each of its last nine home games against conference opponents.
Akron has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four games at InfoCision Stadium.
Akron has lost the first half in seven of its last eight home games against conference opponents.
Ten of Akron’s last 11 October games as a home underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

Akron suffered the equal-most losses by a margin of 10 points or less of any FBS team last season (6).
Akron suffered the equal-most road losses by a margin of 40+ points of any FBS team last season (2).
Northern Illinois was one of only 17 FBS teams with a better road winning percentage (.333) than home winning percentage (.167) last season (min. 8 games).
Northern Illinois ranked 39th among FBS teams for H2 points per game last season (15.1).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m leaning toward Akron here, but probably staying away. With both teams struggling right now there’s not a whole lot of intrigue involved. That said, it should be a pretty competitive matchup. Akron went cold in the second half versus Buffalo in their latest loss, and the Zips have now scored 10 or fewer points in two of their last three games. 

As for Northern Illinois, they haven’t scored well this year either. The Huskies have 14 or fewer points in three of their last four, but they did show some life against Toledo. It’s anyone’s guess how this one will play out, but if the Zips play well I think they can manage a cover.