The Northern Illinois Huskies take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, MS. Kickoff is set for 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Mississippi St is favored by 21 points on the spread with a moneyline of -2000. The total is set at 49.5 points.
Here’s my Northern Illinois vs. Mississippi State prediction and college football picks for Saturday, September 20, 2025.
Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State Prediction
- Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State Pick: Northern Illinois +21 or Better
My Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State best bet is on the Huskies to cover. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State Odds
| N. Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+21 -110 | 49.5 -110o / -110u | +1000 |
| Mississippi St Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-21 -110 | 49.5 -110o / -110u | -2000 |
- Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State point spread: Mississippi St -21
- Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State over/under: 49.5 points
- Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State moneyline: Northern Illinois +1000, Mississippi State -2000
Northern Illinois vs Mississippi State Pick, Betting Analysis
Under head coach Thomas Hammock, if you just bet NIU as an underdog and faded as a favorite, you'd have a lot more money in your pocket.
He looks to grind games down to a crawl with long, clock-bleeding drives, especially in the role of a large underdog. As a result, it's a very tall task to build a significant margin against the Huskies.
This is also an ideal situational spot for NIU, which will have 15 days off before this game kicks off, following its last appearance in College Park a couple of Fridays ago, where it achieved another successful cover as a large pup. That break should be helpful for a team that had so much turnover in the offseason from a roster and coordinator perspective.
Additionally, Mississippi State might not be entirely focused on this potentially sleepy spot against a MAC opponent.
At 3-0 on the season, the Bulldogs might be peaking ahead to their next two games against Tennessee and Texas A&M.
What exactly does that mean? Well, they could come out a bit flat.
They also might have spent this week preparing more for those opponents. They also might not want to show as much on tape and/or pull their starters sooner than usual with a big lead, especially since they've already suffered a few key season-ending injuries on both sides of the ball.
The NIU offense has plenty of holes, but the electric running back duo of Telly Johnson and Chavon Wright will do just enough on the ground to keep the chains moving to help bleed the clock, while the defense looks pretty feisty once again.
The Rebels' pace isn't ideal, but this number is a bit too high across a key number in a tricky spot. I project the Huskies as 19.5-point underdogs.
Pick: Northern Illinois +21 or Better
