MAC championship betting preview

The Northern Illinois Huskies shoot for a second-straight conference championship when they take on the Golden Flashes of Kent State in the MAC championship game Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit (7 pm ET, ESPN2).

In the early betting the Huskies, champions of the West Division by going 8-0 in conference play, were favored by five points over the Flashes, who won the East by also going 8-0 in MAC play.



View Northern Illinois vs Kent State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: Those siding with the visitors in this one saw the Huskies listed as 6.5-point favorites earlier this week at Sportsbook. Meanwhile, the over under line was set to open at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings / Prediction: The OddsShark Power Rankings have the Golden Flashes at No. 71 and the Huskies at No. 48 heading into this contest. Handicapping models project a 52-40 result in favor of the Huskies.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Kent State's No. 35-ranked offense (34.4 PPG) against a Huskies defense that ranks No. 15 at 17.5 PPG. The Golden Flashes passing attack has averaged 160.7 yards per game, less than the Huskies give up through the air (220 YPG on average).

Defensively, the Huskies feature the league's No. 72-rated road run defense, allowing 181.4 yards per game. Kent State, meanwhile, ranks No. 53 in rushing offense at home.

Northern Illinois was a 49-7 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against Eastern Michigan. They covered the 21-point spread as favorites, while the total score (56) made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. Akeem Daniels tore up the turf for 112 rushing yards in the latest Huskies game, a 49-7 win over the Eagles at Rynearson Stadium.

Kent State was a 28-6 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Ohio. They covered the 9.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score (34) made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. Ohio didn’t make much of a game of it last time out, losing to the Golden Flashes as Kent State blasted them 28-6 in Week 13 action.


Northern Illinois Huskies Trends:
When playing in November are 10-0
When playing on turf are 10-0
After outgaining opponent are 10-0
When favored on the road are 8-2

Kent State Golden Flashes Trends:
When playing in November are 8-2
When playing on turf are 10-0
After outgaining opponent are 7-3
When an underdog at home are 3-7


A few Huskies at Golden Flashes trends to consider:
Northern Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Northern Illinois is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Kent State
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Northern Illinois's last 5 games when playing Kent State
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Northern Illinois's last 7 games
Kent State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kent State's last 5 games when playing Northern Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kent State's last 6 games
Kent State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Northern Illinois

 

Back to Top