The Northern Illinois Huskies (+10) are heading south to take on the Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. This afternoon matchup kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch it live by tuning in to ESPNU.
Betting Preview: Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Florida State Seminoles
,In this Saturday matchup, Florida State is getting picked as the heavy favorite and is currently giving up 10 points. If they are wanting to take the moneyline, gamblers would currently need to wager $400 in order to win $100 back on the Noles (-400). The Huskies are getting +300 moneyline odds. If one side can find paydirt in the early stages it’ll create a decent live betting opportunity. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 44.5 points.
Square bettors have been hammering the Huskies, as the opening line was -12. The total has yet to change after it was set initially at 44.5.
The Huskies are down 1.0 unit so far and 1-2 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an Over-Under record of 0-3.
The Seminoles have been a disappointment to moneyline bettors this season, losing 5.0 units. The team is 0-3 ATS and has an O/U record of 1-2.
The Huskies are 1-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Seminoles are also 1-2 SU.
The Huskies are coming off a 24-16 victory over Central Michigan last week where Marcus Childers completed 11-of-18 passes for just 109 yards and three touchdowns. Marcus Jones (just 40 rushing yards on 15 attempts) and Tre Harbison (124 yards on 13 carries) provided the ground attack while D.J. Brown (four receptions, 69 yards, one TD) and Jauan Wesley (two catches, eight yards) manned the receiving duties in the win.
A week ago, Syracuse knocked off this Florida State team by a score of 30-7. The Noles defensive unit let the Orange kill the clock by running for 222 yards on 57 rush attempts, including two rush TDs. Moe Neal put up a solid outing in the win for Syracuse, recording 75 rushing yards on 19 attempts. For Florida State, Deondre Francois completed 18-of-36 passes for 178 yards and one interception. Cam Akers (52 rushing yards on 10 attempts) led the running game while Keith Gavin (six receptions, 79 yards) and Nyqwan Murray (three catches, 31 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.
Northern Illinois has run the ball on 61.7 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Florida State has a rush percentage of 42.2 percent. The Huskies have produced 132.7 rush yards per game and have yet to record a touchdown on the ground this year. The Noles are putting up 96.7 rush yards per game and have two total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Huskies ought to own the edge when it comes to quarterback protection. Their offensive line has allowed just 26 sacks while their D-line registered 43 sacks. The Seminoles, on the other hand, have allowed 32 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs on just 29 occasions.
The Huskies offense has averaged 108.3 yards through the air overall and has four passing TD so far. The Noles have recorded 243.7 pass yards per game and have three total pass scores.
Defensively, Northern Illinois appears to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 147.0 yards and pass for 195.7 yards per game. The Florida State D has given up 300.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 128.0 yards per game to opposing runners. The Huskies are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.76 to opposing QBs, while the Noles have allowed a 6.32 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Childers is up to 214 yards on the year. He’s completed 58 percent of his 43 attempts with four passing scores and one interception. Childers has a 3.94 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 3.36 over the last two outings.
In the host locker room, Deondre Francois has completed 40-of-71 passes for 411 yards, zero TDs and four INTs. Francois’ ANY/A sits at a minuscule 2.13 for the year and 5.44 over his last two outings.
Northern Illinois Huskies at Florida State Seminoles Betting Pick
,SU Winner: Florida State, ATS Winner: Florida State, O/U: Under
