The Northern Illinois Huskies and the NC State Wolfpack meet in week 5 college football action from Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday afternoon. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a NC State vs Northern Illinois Prediction.
Northern Illinois Recap
The Northern Illinois Huskies come into this game looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season after a 23-20 loss to Buffalo last time out. After this game, Northern Illinois will head home to take on UMass.
Huskies Trying To Get Their Head On Straight
Ethan Hampton has thrown for 720 yards, 6 touchdowns and an interception on 62.2% passing while Antario Brown has a team-high 241 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns and Gavin Williams has 163 rushing yards as well on the year. Brown also has a team-high 193 receiving yards while Grayson Barnes has a team-high 10 receptions for 138 yards and Trayvon Rudolph has 114 receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Christian Fuhrman has a team-high 19 total tackles including 10 solo tackles while Nevaeh Sanders has a team-high 3 sacks and Devonte O’Malley has 2 sacks this season.
Why the Northern Illinois Huskies will win
- Northern Illinois has won each of its last three games as an underdog.
- NC State has lost three of its last four games in September.
- NC State has failed to cover the spread in each of its last eight games in September.
- Northern Illinois has covered the spread in seven of its last eight games as an underdog.
NC State Recap
The NC State Wolfpack come into this one looking to bounce back from a 59-35 loss at the hands of Clemson in their last game, dropping them to 2-2 on the year. After this matchup, NC State will welcome Wake Forest to town.
Wolfpack Looking To Find Consistency
Grayson McCall has thrown for 476 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on 66.7% passing while CJ Bailey has thrown for 360 yards, a touchdown and 2 INTs on 64.4% passing. Jordan Waters has rushed for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns while Kendrick Raphael has 182 rushing yards and 2 TDs and Hollywood Smothers also has 114 rushing yards as well on the year. Kevin Concepcion has a team-high 27 receptions for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns while Justin Joly has 14 grabs for 225 yards and Noah Rogers has 100 receiving yards this season. On defense, Caden Fordham has a team-high 28 total tackles while Sean Brown and DK Kaufman each have a team-high 15 solo tackles. As a unit, NC State’s defense has combined for 4 sacks and 3 interceptions so far this season.
Why the NC State Wolfpack will win
- NC State has won 27 of its last 28 games against non-conference opponents at Carter-Finley Stadium.
- Northern Illinois has lost seven of its last eight September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Northern Illinois has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Northern Illinois vs. NC State Prediction
I’m on NIU and the points here. I’m still not sold that Grayson McCall will be at 100% if he were to suit up here and I’m not loving CJ Bailey as a starting QB either. NIU simply got caught with their pants down, buying into their own hype in the loss to Buffalo and I think that loss was a wake-up call. NIU’s been competitive against much better this season and NC State’s allowed teams to hang around all year long. Give me NIU and the points.