Central Michigan Chippewas vs Northern Illinois Huskies Point Spread Picks

No matter what happens with this Northern Illinois team, they had a moment they will remember forever. They went into Notre Dame as a prohibitive underdog, and came out of there with the win. It is the only loss Notre Dame has suffered this season. Then reality sets in. The Huskies are just 5-5 in their other 10 games. Central Michigan at 4-7 has no path to Bowl eligibility, so this is their Bowl game so to speak. I think the line is too high here, because you have a Northern Illinois team that has averaged just 24 PPG on the season. I see 30-21 by all the metrics. I like the line value on the dog. Make the play on Central Michigan.

Northern Illinois has turned its season around with three straight wins, and the Huskies are 3-1 ATS their past four games. They defeated Eastern Michigan 20-13 on Oct. 21 and QB Rocky Lombardi threw for 173 yards with no interceptions and Gavin Williams rushed for 80 yards on just seven carries for the Huskies. Central Michigan is 2-8 ATS its past 10 games, including 0-4 ATS its past four after losing 24-17 to Ball State. The Chippewas had to play Michigan State and Notre Dame earlier in the season, but they haven't had much better luck in conference play. The Chippewas were outgained 344-260 by Ball State and they yielded 243 rushing yards. Northern Illinois is in revenge after losing 35-22 in last year's meeting and Central Michigan is 0-6 ATS its past six conference games. Lay the points with Northern Illinois. 

Central Michigan has had a rough season and this will be their fourth road game in six contests. Central Michigan comes off of a 34-18 home loss to Bowling Green as a 6-point favorite turning it over 4 times. For this game, top running backs Lew Nichols III (469 yards) and Marion Lukes are hurting and questionable. Central Michigan is 2-5 ATS on the season and 11-36 ATS after having lost four of five. Northern Illinois has had to play five of its seven games on the road. The ground attack is very strong behind RBs Harrison Waylee (727 yards, 5.6 ypc) and Antario Brown (575 yards, 5.8 ypc). The team is second in the MAC in rushing with 202.3 yards per game and fourth in scoring (30.8 ppg). Northern Illinois is 13-4 ATS after failing to cover, plus 12-3 ATS at home after having lost three out of four. Northern Illinois won at Central Michigan last season scoring 39 points with 548 yards, so back home field. Play Northern Illinois.

Northern Illinois is 4-3 UNDER, including three of its last four games and Central Michigan is 5-2 UNDER this season, including its last three games. The Chippewas stayed UNDER even while going overtime to defeat Toledo 26-23 on Saturday and they are allowing 26.9 points per game. Central Michigan is using redshirt freshman at quarterback in Daniel Richardson and he completed 20 of 34 for 172 yards and two touchdowns against the Rockets. Northern Illinois did go OVER against Bowling Green, but the Huskies allowed an average of only 18 points their three previous games and the defense has made a huge improvement compared to early in the season. Last year's meeting went UNDER by 7.5 points as CMU won 40-10. The Huskies have stayed UNDER four of its past five after an ATS loss and Central Michigan is 9-4 UNDER as a home favorite. Play the UNDER as a Max Play. 

Central Michigan comes off a 30-27 win over Ohio as Kobe Lewis had 28 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Daniel Richardson finished 23 of 41 for 243 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Kalil Pimpleton. The Chippewas survived two TDs scored in less than a minute of game time when the Bobcats scored a touchdown following a power outage near the end of the first half, and then returned the second-half kickoff 93 yards for another score. The Chippewas had 184 yards on the ground on 47 carries with Lewis doing most of the damage, and Pimpleton caught five passes for 65 yards. Northern Illinois lost 48-10 in last year's meeting and the Huskies didn't win two in a row the whole season. This year's squad is off to a bad start as it lost 49-30 to Buffalo as the Salukis couldn't stop Jaret Patterson, who ran for 137 yards on 6.9 yards per carry and scored twice for the Bulls. Central Michigan is 11-1-1 ATS its last 13 Wednesday games and 19-6-2 ATS as a road favorite. Also, the Chippewas are 10-4 ATS their last 14 games following a win and they have covered the number seven of their last 10 overall. The Huskies are 3-9 ATS as home underdogs. Play Central Michigan.