Northern Illinois Huskies vs Central Michigan Chippewas Game Preview and Prediction - 10/23/2021

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, October 23, 2021

Venue:  Kelly/Shorts Stadium, Mt Pleasant, MI

Where to Watch:  ESPNU

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  NIU +5, CMU -5; Over/Under:  57.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  NIU +5.5, CMU -5.5; Over/Under:  57.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  NIU +5, CMU -5; Over/Under:  57.5 points

 

Northern Illinois Huskies:  5-2 (1st place, MAC West)

Central Michigan Chippewas:  4-3 (4th place, MAC West)

 

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Northern Illinois Huskies:  won at home on Oct. 16 against the Bowling Green Falcons 34-26.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  won at home on Oct. 16 against the Toledo Rockets in overtime 26-23.

 

 

 

NIU is coming into this game with a 5-2 record overall and they are 2-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 4th conference matchup of the year and they are off to a very good start with their 3-0 record in conference games this season. Their 3 wins came against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, the Toledo Rockets, and against BGSU in their last game. NIU is on a 4 game winning streak coming into this one after that win. Rocky Lombardi did not play well in their last game as they had absolutely no passing offense in that game. He completed 4/8 passes for 38 yards and 1 touchdown. Jevyon Ducker had a massive day on the ground though as he led the team in rushing with 210 yards on 33 carries. Mason Blakemore had 44 yards rushing and 1 touchdown on 4 carries as well but Ducker was pretty much their whole running game in that one. Trayvon Rudolph led the receivers with 20 yards and 1 touchdown on 1 reception in what was a very quiet day for the receiving corps. Dillon Thomas led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 5 assisted ones. James Ester led the defense in sacks in that game with the only sack for them but no one on the defense came away with an interception. They have scored 199 points in 7 games this season averaging 28.4 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 214 points against them allowing 30.6 PPG. Their offense is averaging 377 YPG while their defense is allowing 409 YPG.

 

 

CMU is coming into this game with a 4-3 record overall and they are 3-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 4th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are off to a good start with a 2-1 record in their conference games this season. Their 1 loss came against the Miami-OH RedHawks while their 2 wins came against the Ohio Bobcats and Toledo in their last game. They won that game against Toledo in a very close game that they squeaked out by 3 points in OT and they have now won their last 2 games coming into this one. Quarterback Daniel Richardson played well in their last game as he completed 20/34 passes for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lew Nichols had a very nice day on the ground as he led the team in rushing with 134 yards on 29 carries. He was basically their entire running game in that one. Kalil Pimpleton led the receivers with 103 yards on 6 receptions while Nichols and Dallas Dixon each caught the touchdown passes. Justin Whiteside led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles, 1 assisted one and 1 sack while Gage Kreski was right behind with 4 solo tackles and 2 assisted ones. Jacques Bristol and Troy Hairston both led the defense in sacks with 1.5 each while Thomas Incoom also had 1 sack himself. Amir Siddiq, George Douglas, Tico Brown, and Marion Lukes all combined for 2 sacks in that game. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that game. They have scored 194 points in 7 games this season averaging 27.7 PPG and they have allowed their opponents to score 188 points against them allowing 26.9 PPG. Their offense is averaging 442.3 YPG while their defense is allowing 390.1 YPG.

 

NIU is coming into this game as a 5 point underdog with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. They are currently leading the MAC and are finding ways to win their games. Central Michigan is just floating above .500 and they have won both of their last 2 games by exactly 3 points, both against conference opponents. NIU has the best overall record and the best conference record in the MAC right now. They also have a positive record when playing on the road just losing the 1 game this year. NIU has all the confidence and the momentum on their side coming into this game, they are going to cover the spread and win in an upset here. The best bet to place in this game is on NIU to cover the spread and to win straight up on the moneyline.

 

Northern Illinois Central Michigan Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, October 23, 2021 (12:00 pm ET start time) is NIU 28 CMU 24.

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Northern Illinois Huskies: 149-123 ATS in all games. 68-46 ATS as an underdog. 49-25 ATS as a road underdog. 84-52 ATS in road games. 101-83 ATS against conference opponents.

Central Michigan Chippewas: 9-27 O/U as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. 22-30 O/U when the total is between 56.5 and 63. 39-54 O/U as a favorite. 21-28 O/U as a home favorite. 36-43 O/U in home games. 62-69 O/U against conference opponents.

 

 

Northern Illinois Huskies:  A. Brown (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed C. Tucker (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. H. Waylee (RB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. D. Lafayette (S) Out indefinitely - Leg injury.

Central Michigan Chippewas:  D. McNary (DB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. J. Sullivan (WR) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury. T. Brown (LB) Ques Sat - Undisclosed injury.

 

 

Northern Illinois Huskies: Jevyon Ducker is one player to watch in this contest. He is coming off of a massive game where he had over 200 rushing yards himself. He was a key piece on the ground for them in their last win so look for them to give him the ball many times in this one as he tries to keep up that great play of his.

 

Central Michigan Chippewas: Lew Nichols is one player to watch here. He has a team-high in rushing yards this season. He is coming off of a great game where he had over 100 rushing yards in that one. He is one of their biggest playmakers so look for them to get the ball in his hands in this game.

 

 

“We have a tremendous backfield and the way those guys practice gives them an opportunity to play the way they play in games.” - Thomas Hammock on his team’s running backs.

 

 

"I think ever since I missed that first one it just got in my head. The next couple of ones, I was like, 'Dang, what if I miss this one? What if I miss this one?'" - Marshall Meeder on the kicker’s mindset when missing a field goal.

 

 

 

WR Tyrice Richie

WR Rudolph, Trayvon 

WR Travis, Messiah 

TE Soraghan, Liam 

QB Lombardi, Rocky 

RB Harrison Waylee

FB Ratkovich, Clint 

 

WR Kalil Pimpleton

WR Sullivan, JaCorey 

WR Dixon, Dallas 

TE Wilson, Joel 

QB Richardson, Daniel 

RB Lew Nichols III

 

Passing: R. Lombardi (973)

Rushing: H. Waylee (574)

Receiving: T. Richie (327)

Touchdowns: R. Lombardi (5)

Sacks: D. Thomas (2)

Tackles: J. Hansen (26)

 

Passing: D. Richardson (1192)

Rushing: L. Nichols (725)

Receiving: D. Dixon (532)

Touchdowns: D. Dixon (6)

Sacks: T. Hairston (4.5)

Tackles: G. Kreski (31)

 

Coaches:

Northern Illinois Huskies: Thomas Hammock (3rd season)

Central Michigan Chippewas: Jim McElwain (3rd season)

 

51 degrees F mostly cloudy, 66% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 7 mph wind speeds NW.