Ball State Cardinals at Northern Illinois Huskies
Tuesday, 11/15/11, 8:00 PM EST, TV: ESPNU
Opening Point Spread: Northern Illinois -19
Current Betting Line: Northern Illinois -19
Opening Total: N/A
Current Total: N/A
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Ball State pushed its record to 6-4 on the season and 4-2 in Mid-American Conference play with a 33-31 win over Eastern Michigan as 2.5-point road underdogs, which also served as the team’s fourth consecutive spread victory. The Cardinals are now bowl eligible for the first time since the 2008 campaign and will be on the road for the third consecutive week. The team will be coming off 10 days rest and sat many of its players during the break to get healthy. “We’ve been in all these close games, and those guys have played every snap,” commented Cardinals coach Pete Lambo. Ball State is 7-3 ATS as an underdog of 10.5 to 21 points the last two-plus seasons.
The Cardinals are averaging 143 rushing and 233 passing yards this season, while allowing opponents to average 210 rushing yards and 280.7 passing yards a contest. Ball State is led offensively by quarterback Keith Wenning, who has thrown for 2,233 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions. The unit is 15th in the country in red-zone efficiency, scoring on 36-of-40 trips inside the 20-yard line. Ball State is 20-13 in its last 33 MAC games.
Northern Illinois comes in winners of five straight games and will return home for the first time since Oct. 15, coming off a 45-14 win over the Bowling Green Falcons as six-point road favorites. “This was our best performance on the road,” commented Huskies coach Dave Doeren. “We played a complete game for four quarters.” Tuesday night’s game is the school’s annual “Blackout”, as all fans are encouraged to wear black. The program has won 13 of its last 14 MAC contests. Northern Illinois is 10-4 ATS at home the last two-plus seasons, while the ‘over’ is 7-5 in that situation in that span.
The Huskies have won the last two meetings in this series and tallied a dominating 59-21 victory as 15.5-point road favorites a year ago. Northern Illinois was led by quarterback Chandler Harnish in that contest, throwing for 247 yards and two scores, while the stop unit limited Ball State to just 268 yards. Overall, the Huskies have won 13 straight games inside Huskie Stadium.
Bettors will likely back the Cardinals due to their 23-8 ATS mark as a road underdog, while the Huskies are 5-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record.
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