← Matchups

Illinois State

· 3-0 · power +13.0 · #67
Our side · spreadNIU +3.5 logged our number at the pick NIU -3.0 · 5.2 pts from the market now

Northern Illinois

MAC · 0-2 · power -0.1 · #185
Final ILST 28 · NIU 24 ML L Spread L Total W our logged sides, graded on the record
Our side
SpreadNIU +3.5 logged live now: NIU +2.5 — the pick stands, the number moved · ours NIU -2.7

Guarantee game: the roster layer's per-game call from both rosters (returning production, portal moves, depth) puts the favorite +3.05 against the line, past its 2-point trigger. It outranks the market's move here.

TotalOver 47.5 logged ours 52.9

The total has not moved a point since it opened (48.5 → 47.5); ours 51.2 against 47.5 says over.

MoneylineNIU to win logged ours 56% · book 43%

Our number: NIU by 0.9 — NIU to win.

Distance from the market 5.2 pts / +5.4 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 25–28 ILST – NIU
2026-09-12 · 7:00 PM Huskie Stadium · Dekalb, IL Early season

The books 5 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book ILST spreadNIU spread OverUnder ILST winNIU win ILST TT overILST TT under NIU TT overNIU TT under
DraftKings
FanDuel
BetMGM
ESPN Bet
Caesars

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadNorthern Illinois -2.7
the marketNorthern Illinois +2.5
Total52.9
the market47.5
Northern Illinois win56% vs 43%

Both percentages are Northern Illinois’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Public vs booksbets vs money · Action Network captured in-game spread NIU 54% bets · 55% money total Over 72% bets · 67% money ML ILST 94% bets · 44% money · money NIU
Series Northern Illinois lead 10–4 · 14 meetings since 1972
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 44 ranks apart
Illinois State Redbirds #123 rush offense Northern Illinois Huskies #167 run defense
Pass game even 32 ranks apart
Illinois State Redbirds #79 pass offense Northern Illinois Huskies #47 pass defense
Run game even 9 ranks apart
Northern Illinois Huskies #133 rush offense Illinois State Redbirds #142 run defense
Pass game edge Illinois State Redbirds 98 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #232 pass offense Illinois State Redbirds #134 pass defense
Illinois State Redbirds Balanced · 55% run Avg pace Northern Illinois Huskies Run-heavy · 71% run Ball-control
Thomas Hammock · 35-47

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Illinois State Redbirds
DB Jack Oliver 6 tkl · 2 PD · 1 INT #47 DB
LB Tye Niekamp 14 tkl · 2.0 sacks · 4.0 TFL #64 LB
TE Alex Herrera 4 rec · 49 yds · 2 TD #43 TE
WR Dylan Lord 13 rec · 134 yds · 1 TD #134 WR
Northern Illinois Huskies
LB Jashawn Nelson 19 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL #47 LB
DB Avery Jones 11 tkl #136 DB
LB Jack Murray 18 tkl · 0.5 TFL #108 LB
DB Andruw Ellis 1 tkl · 1 INT #204 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Illinois State Redbirds +13.0 +7.6 +5.4 #67
Northern Illinois HuskiesMAC -0.1 -4.2 +4.1 #185

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Illinois State offense vs Northern Illinois defense+3.5 pts
Northern Illinois offense vs Illinois State defense-9.6 pts

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.