Bowling Green vs NIU MAC Championship Odds Guide

Posted by Daniel Strum on Wednesday,December 2, 2015 5:39, EDT in

The defending conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies and Bowling Green Falcons will square off in the MAC Championship for the third straight year when they take to the gridiron at Ford Field on Friday night. After splitting the last two title games, both title contenders will seek to snap their championship tie while covering the College Football lines spread for collegiate gridiron gamblers everywhere. Now, let’s find out which team will bring home the bacon!

How To Bet the Falcons @ Huskies MAC Championship Game Odds & Game Info

When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, December 4, 2015
Where: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
NCAAF Odds: Bowling Green -9.5

Why Bet on Bowling Green (9-3 SU, 9-3 ATS)

The Falcons come into the MAC title game off an emphatic 48-10 blowout over Ball State on Tuesday in which they covered the spread as a 23.5-point road favorite. Underrated quarterback Matt Johnson completed 24 of 31 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. Running back Travis Greene rushed 17 times for 97 yards and two scores while fellow back Fred Coppet and Matt Domer both rushed for over 100 yards while adding one score apiece.

Defensively, the Falcons limited Ball State quarterback Riley Neal to just 154 passing yards while picking him off three times. The Falcons are the only team in the FBS to record a whopping six road wins this season and are just one of six teams to have not lost on the road this season.

Why Bet on Northern Illinois (8-4 SU, 7-3 ATS)

The Huskies ‘backed’ into the MAC Championship game despite losing to Ohio 26-21 on Tuesday while failing to cover the spread as an 11-point home favorite. Northern Illinois learned of its berth and were declared MAC West winners on Friday when Western Michigan stunned No. 24 Toledo 35-30. The Broncos’ win forced a three-way tiebreaker that was decided after Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Toledo all went 6-2 in MAC play. The Huskies got the bid by beating both teams.

“I don’t know if it’s relief more than it’s excitement,” Northern Illinois head coach Rod Carey told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. “We had control of our own destiny and then we didn’t, and we still got to where we want to be. And now we have a big game in front of us.” Northern Illinois was held to just 73 rushing yards in the defeat and lost the time of possession battle by nearly 10 full minutes.

The Huskies will be back on the field after shutting down their football activities after Tuesday’s game. The team was not allowed to practice until the division race was decided. Carey said it will be easy for his team to get right back in the swing of things. “We’ll have a team meeting (Saturday) night, give everyone a day to travel if they were gone,” he said. “Everyone will be all on, all week.”

My Expert Game Analysis, Prediction & Pick:

Northern Illinois beat the hell out of Bowling Green 51-17 in last year’s title game to easily cash in as a 5.5-point road underdog. Ironically, the Huskies were beaten around like a bunch of rag dolls in the 2013 MAC Championship game as Bowling Green rolled to an emphatic 47-27 beatdown to easily cash in as a 3-point road dog. This time around, I’m going to urge college football bettors everywhere to back the Bowling Green Falcons because this time, they’re simply the better team.

The Falcons average almost 10 points per game more than the Huskies while allowing just 3.0 more points per game than their rivals and again – this is a team that knows how to win no matter where they play at. The Falcons are 6-1 ATS in their last seven games after scoring more than 40 points in their previous game and an identical 6-1 ATS in their last seven conference games.

Conversely, Northern Illinois is just 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games following an SU loss and an identical 1-4-1 ATS in their last six neutral site games. Bowling Green wins by a touchdown at the very least!

My Pick: Bowling Green 35 Northern Illinois 24