The Northern Illinois Huskies take on the Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Maryland, on Friday, Sept. 5. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network.
Maryland is favored by -17.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -850. The total is set at 46.5 points.
Here’s my Northern Illinois vs Maryland prediction and college football picks for Friday, September 5.
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Prediction
- Northern Illinois vs. Maryland Pick: Under 47.5
My Maryland vs. Northern Illinois best bet is on the under. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Odds
| Northern Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+17.5 -115 | 46.5 -115o / -105u | +575 |
| Maryland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-17.5 -105 | 46.5 -115o / -105u | -850 |
- Northern Illinois vs Maryland point spread: Maryland -18.5
- Northern Illinois vs Maryland over/under: 47.5 points
- Northern Illinois vs Maryland moneyline: Northern Illinois +700, Maryland -1000
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Preview
Northern Illinois Huskies Betting Preview
Under a new defensive coordinator, NIU didn’t appear to lose a step in Week 1. The Huskies generated nine tackles for loss, two sacks and a turnover in a 19-17 win over FCS Holy Cross.
The defense completely shut down the run and held the Crusaders to two or fewer yards on over half of their rushes.
It was the offense that sounded the alarms early on. Sophomore quarterback Josh Holst got the start for NIU and led a plodding offense that got basically nothing going in any phase.
Holst threw an interception and completed 12 passes for just 101 yards. He was also a non-factor on the ground before exiting the game late to injury.
Backup Jackson Proctor replaced Holst and went 2-for-6 and eight yards. Yikes.
Receiver DeAree Rogers was about the only bright spot, catching seven passes for 73 yards, while the rest of the pass catching crew couldn’t surpass four yards per target.
Even running back Chavon Wright was stuffed after picking up 45 of his 77 total yards on his first carry. The offense was dire.
Maryland Terrapins Betting Preview
For his first collegiate start, quarterback Malik Washington sure could've done worse. The true freshman completed 27-of-43 passes for 262 yards and a trio of touchdowns with no turnovers.
He spread the ball around between Jalil Farooq (eight targets), Dorian Fleming (eight), Shaleak Knotts (six), and Octavian Smith Jr. (six).
The offense did its job, but the real story of Week 1 was the Maryland defense in a 39-7 win over FAU. The Terps forced six turnovers, including four interceptions, and didn’t turn the ball over once offensively.
That +6 turnover margin is both a surefire way to win a football game and unlikely to sustain.
Actually, the offense was quite mediocre. Maryland ranked in the bottom four in EPA per play on the week and just four of the Terps’ 76 plays from scrimmage counted as explosive (5%). They only picked up 50% of available yards and were tackled for a loss six times.
Maryland’s run game lacked a concrete identity. No one received more than 10 carries, which could be a feature rather than a bug if any of the ballcarriers found consistent success, but they did not.
Some of that can be chalked up to having a true freshman at quarterback, but the offense needs to improve quickly for Maryland.
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Pick, Betting Analysis
If you were quick to the window, you got a stellar number, as Maryland opened at -14.5. That number jumped significantly, and the value on Maryland is gone.
Maryland’s defense may have the most inflated numbers of any FBS team by the end of Week 2. FAU couldn’t stop giving the football away and NIU enters this game coming off one of the worst offensive performances of the weekend.
Maryland’s defense was excellent against a not-so-excellent FAU rushing attack. The Terps held the Owls to two or fewer yards on nearly 60% of all rush attempts and zero or negative yards on over 20% of them. Maryland’s defense should again be excellent.
On the other side, Maryland struggled at times to run the ball. The offensive line generated just 1.47 yards per rush against what should have been an overmatched FAU defensive front. NIU’s defensive front is stouter than that, and the Huskies defended the run well.
Neither team managed to pick up more than 50% of available yards in their season openers, and neither offensive system is particularly aggressive.
In addition to NIU’s offensive struggles, Holst left last week’s contest with an injury and the backup couldn’t get anything going. Should Proctor have to go, this is a tough test on the road.
I’m betting against either team hanging substantial numbers and into NIU trying to slow the pace and play ball control, especially if Holst doesn’t go.
Maryland should've scored a bunch more than 39 with a +6 turnover margin, and the underlying numbers show that the offense struggled against an inferior defense.
This total already dropped a point, but it hasn’t dropped enough.
Pick: Under 47.5
