Maine Black Bears (0-0) vs. NIU Huskies (1-2)
September 25, 2021 2:30 pm EDT
The Line: NIU Huskies -24.5
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The Northern Illinois Huskies meet the Maine Black Bears Saturday in Week 4 college football action. Maine is coming into this one after a week three game versus Merrimack. In that one, the Bears posted a five-point victory. As for the Huskies, they played Michigan in their last game. NIU fell in a 53-point blowout during that outing. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Maine had a 24-17 lead on Delaware going into halftime of their first game, but ultimately couldn’t score afterward in a 34-24 defeat. Game two against James Madison was even worse, as the Bears fell behind 24-0 at the break and limped to a 55-7 blowout defeat.
In game three versus Merrimack, the Black Bears gave up 20 second-quarter points on the way to a 31-26 victory. QB Derek Robertson had 141 yards and a score, while Elijah Barnwell led the rush with 78 yards and a TD off 17 carries.
Over on the Northern Illinois side, they had to hang on tight during their week one game versus Georgia Tech, surviving a good final quarter by the Jackets in a 22-21 NIU victory. The Huskies had some trouble with Wyoming in game two however, losing that one 50-43 after giving up 28 first-half points.
The Huskies played Michigan this past weekend. In that one, NIU was overwhelmed early with a 35-3 first half and ended up falling 63-10. QB Rocky Lombardi had just 46 yards with one TD and a pick while also leading the rushing attack with 72 yards from seven carries.
PICK: I’m going to try NIU here but I’m probably avoiding it. There was no realistic way in which the Huskies would have matched up against Michigan; NIU ended up giving out 606 toal yards and 9.3 yards per play in a futile effort. The Huskies will match up much better in this weekend’s game, however.
As for Maine, their offensive attack left much to be desired in their last game, but they had a solid performance outside of the second quarter. Still, if both teams play to their capabilities this should be a Northern Illinois cover.
