by Rod Pearson
Tuesday, Sep 03, 2024
Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 7, 2024
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
Where to Watch: NBC
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Point Spread: NIU +28.5, ND -28.5; Over/Under: 45 points
Bet365: Point Spread: NIU +28.5, ND -28.5; Over/Under: 45 points
BetMGM: Point Spread: NIU +28.5, ND -28.5; Over/Under: 45.5 points
Season Record
Northern Illinois Huskies: 1-0 (0-0) (2nd place, MAC)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 1-0 (FBS Independent)
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Recent Form
Northern Illinois Huskies: won their last game at home against the Western Illinois Leathernecks 54-15.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: won their last game on the road against the Texas A&M Aggies 23-13.
Northern Illinois Huskies vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview and Analysis
Northern Illinois is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 1-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Western Illinois 54-15. Ethan Hampton was the starting QB and he completed 18/20 passes for 328 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Antario Brown led the team in rushing yards with 69. Trayvon Rudolph led the receivers with 104 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 1 TD. Roy Williams led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Roy Williams led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception in that one.
Notre Dame is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-0 in their home games, 1-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Texas A&M 23-13. Riley Leonard was the starting QB and he completed 18/30 passes for 158 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Jeremiyah Love led the team in rushing yards with 91 and 1 TD. Beaux Collins led the receivers with 62 receiving yards on 5 receptions. Jack Kiser led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 4 assisted tackles while Howard Cross III led the defense in sacks with 1. Adon Shuler and Xavier Watts each came away with 1 interception for them in that one.
Northern Illinois vs Notre Dame Prediction
The current betting odds have Notre Dame listed as a 28.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Notre Dame looked great in their season opener as they beat a solid Texas A&M team on the road. They won that game 23-13, suffocating Texas A&M with some really good defense, and now they come back home to play their home opener against a much weaker team. Northern Illinois also won their season opener, but they were at home against a team from the FCS. They beat Western Illinois 54-15 but still gave up some points in that one. They gave up more points at home to a team from the FCS than Notre Dame gave up on the road against a team from the SEC, and that shows the kind of talent on this Notre Dame defense this season. They also acquired a new starting QB, Riley Leonard, and he looked great in that opening game. Leonard was a great QB for Duke last season too so he will be looking to continue that this year, especially now that he plays for a team that has a true shot to make the college football playoff. Notre Dame only scored 23 points in their season opener, but they did play against a strong Texas A&M defense that had lots of talent so they will have a much easier time moving the ball against the NIU defense at home. NIU is also going to struggle a lot more to move the ball here, especially since they have a new starting QB learning the system this season. Notre Dame will be looking to put on a show in their home opener after that big upset win last week on the road. The best way to place a bet here is on Notre Dame to cover the spread in this game.
Northern Illinois Notre Dame Prediction: Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 7, 2024 (3:30 pm ET start time) is Notre Dame 49 Northern Illinois 3.
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NCAAF Betting Trends
Northern Illinois Huskies: 0-2 ATS in their last 2 road games. 4-8 ATS in the first half of their last 12 games. 5-0 to the over in their last 5 road games.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 8-4 ATS in their last 12 games. 8-4 (+5.55 units) on the moneyline in their last 12 games. 6-0 to the over in their last 6 games.
Key Injuries
Northern Illinois Huskies: C. Crowell (DT) Questionable - Undisclosed. D. Akers (TE) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Seibert (K) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Thomas (DE) Questionable - Undisclosed. L. Skartvedt (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. Lewis (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: S. Prescod (OL) Out - Shoulder. T. Bennie-Powell (SAF) Out - Shoulder. T. Johnson (SAF) Questionable - Foot. K. Bauman (TE) Questionable - Knee. J. Faison (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Jagusah (OL) Out - Pectoral. C. Tucker (CB) Out - Knee. G. Payne (RB) Out - Knee.
Notable Quotes
“I think this was the calmest I’ve been for a game. Based on what I’ve seen from these guys, they checked every box up until this point. Obviously, that performance was one that we haven’t done here in a while, and (I’m) proud of them, proud of their effort.” - Thomas Hammock after his team’s win against Western Illinois in their last game.
“It wasn’t pretty. The defense played lights out, (forced) turnovers. And our offense didn’t turn the ball over. Yes, there’s a lot of things we need to work on but man they did a great job at least trying to move the chains and… they didn’t make a detrimental mistake.” - Marcus Freeman after his team’s win against Texas A&M in their last game.
Starting Lineups
Northern Illinois Huskies
WR Thompson, Cam
WR McElroy, Andrew
WR Rudolph, Trayvon
TE Barnes, Grayson
QB Hampton, Ethan
RB Brown, Antario
FB Lampe, Brock
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
WR Collins, Beaux
WR Faison, Jordan
WR Greathouse, Jaden
TE Evans, Mitchell
QB Leonard, Riley
RB Love, Jeremiyah
Statistical Leaders
Northern Illinois Huskies
Passing: E. Hampton (328)
Rushing: A. Brown (69)
Receiving: T. Rudolph (104)
Touchdowns: T. Rudolph (2)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Passing: R. Leonard (158)
Rushing: J. Love (91)
Receiving: B. Collins (62)
Touchdowns: J. Love (1)
Coaches:
Northern Illinois Huskies: Thomas Hammock (6th season)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Marcus Freeman (4th season)
Rod Pearson
About the Author:
Rod Pearson has been a rabid sports fan his entire life. He grew up in Ontario, and was skilled in both hockey and baseball, and pitched in an elite baseball league for many years. In 2022, Rod decided to hang up his glove, so that he could write about the sports he loves -- but from a gambling perspective. Join Rod every day as he breaks down the games to find the best betting value.
