The Buffalo Bulls will look to make it two in a row over the Northern Illinois Huskies when they meet in MACtion play on Wednesday night. The Bulls (4-6, 2-4), who have lost two in a row, beat Northern Illinois 49-30 last season. The Huskies (7-3, 5-1), who have won six of seven, are 12-2 all-time against Buffalo. Northern Illinois can clinch the MAC West with a victory.
Kickoff from UB Stadium in Buffalo, N.Y., is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Huskies are 1.5-point favorites in the latest Northern Illinois vs. Buffalo odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is set at 60. Before locking in any Buffalo vs. Northern Illinois picks or MACtion predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.
The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 12 of the 2021 season on a 36-23 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on NIU vs. Buffalo and locked in its MACtion picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the odds and college football betting lines for Buffalo vs. NIU:
- NIU vs. Buffalo spread: Northern Illinois -1.5
- NIU vs. Buffalo over-under: 60 points
- NIU vs. Buffalo money line: Northern Illinois -125, Buffalo +105
- NIU: The Huskies are 11-2-1 against the spread in their last 14 road games against a team with a losing home record
- BUFF: The Bulls are 8-1-1 ATS against a team with a winning record
Why Northern Illinois can cover
After going 0-6 a year ago, NIU's impressive turnaround has come with a young roster that includes 75 players who finished high school in 2020 or 2021, and 11 more who graduated in 2019. Of those 86 players, 50 have seen action this season and 32 are listed on the two-deep roster this week. The youngster making the biggest impact is freshman running back Jay Ducker. Ducker leads the Huskies in rushing with 734 yards and has scored three touchdowns.
A redshirt freshman making a big impact is wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph. Rudolph leads the Huskies with 747 receiving yards on 40 receptions (18.7 average) and seven touchdowns. He is coming off an eight-catch, 108-yard effort against Ball State last Wednesday. A week earlier at Kent State, he caught 14 passes for 309 yards (22.1 average) and three touchdowns.
Why Buffalo can cover
The Bulls have used a balanced attack this season, rushing and passing for 200 or more yards in the same game four times. Prior to this year, Buffalo had accomplished that feat six times over the previous six seasons. Junior running back Dylan McDuffie is having his best season of his career, rushing for 857 yards and 10 touchdowns. He ranks third in the MAC in rushing and second in rushing touchdowns.
Despite some questions about the receiver position entering the season, graduate transfer Quian Williams has had the answers. The former Eastern Michigan standout ranks seventh in the MAC in receptions (58) and sixth in receiving yards (788). He was the fastest Buffalo receiver to reach 30 catches since Ron Willoughby had 30 in the first five games of the 2015 season. Williams has three 100-yard receiving games on the year.
How to make Buffalo vs. Northern Illinois picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, projecting 67 combined points. It also has generated an against-the-spread pick that cashes in almost 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Northern Illinois vs. Buffalo? And which side of the spread hits nearly 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to back, all from the advanced model that has crushed its college football picks, and find out.
