Week 1: NIU vs Eastern Illinois 9/1/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Northern Illinois Huskies and Eastern Illinois Panthers do battle Thursday night in week 1 college football action from Huskie Stadium. The Panthers are coming off a rough campaign last year, going 1-10 overall and 1-5 in the OVC. As for Northern Illinois, they posted a 9-5 record last year and took the Mid-American Conference championship. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Eastern Illinois had a rough season in 2021, failing to eclipse their one-win total from the shortened 2020 schedule. The Panthers went just 1-10 overall and 1-5 in the OVC last season. That mark left the team just one spot out of the basement in the OVC standings. 

Eastern Illinois kicked off the year with four straight losses before their lone win, a 28-14 affair versus Tennessee Tech. After that it was six more losses to Murray State, UT Martin, Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri State, Austin Peay and Murray State again. 

Over on the Northern Illinois side, they had much more success in 2021. The Huskies put up a 9-5 overall record and a 6-2 run in the MAC. That result left Northern Illinois in first place in the West Division. In the MAC Championship Game, NIU took out Kent State 41-23. 

Northern Illinois stumbled out of the gate at 1-2, but then hit a nice five-game win streak. The Huskies would fall to Kent State and Western Michigan along the way to the MAC Championship Game victory, and their final appearance in the Cure Bowl was also a loss 41-47 to Coastal Carolina. 

PICK: I’m likely going to stay with Northern Illinois. The Huskies’ run last year was a recipe for heart attacks, as seven of their nine wins were by a touchdown or less. Nine starters are back on offense however, so the ingredients are there for another strong scoring campaign. Leading rusher Jay Ducker is gone, but Northern Illinois’ O-line will be formidable once again. QB Rocky Lombardi gets three of his top four targets back as well, so there’s plenty of room for the offense to flourish. So long as the defense can step it up with a few improvements Northern Illinois should be a contender again in 2022.