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The Northern Illinois Huskies are 1-5 against the Central Michigan Chippewas since October of 2015, but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Saturday. The Huskies and CMU will face off in a Mid-American battle at noon ET at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Both teams seek to continue their momentum from their previous wins.
NIU was able to grind out a solid win over the Bowling Green Falcons last week, winning 34-26. RB Jay Ducker was the offensive standout of the game for NIU, picking up 210 yards on the ground on 33 carries.
Meanwhile, it may have taken overtime to finish the job, but CMU ultimately got the result they were hoping for last week with a 26-23 victory over the Toledo Rockets. The team ran away with 17 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those in the second to pick up the win. CMU's RB Lew Nichols III did his thing and picked up 134 yards on the ground on 29 carries in addition to snatching one receiving TD.
Most of the squad's points came courtesy of special teams, which contributed 14. K Marshall Meeder booted in four field goals, the longest a 51-yarder in the third quarter, which ultimately accounted for the difference in the contest.
The Huskies are expected to lose this next one by 5. Those burned by picking them against the spread last week might want to keep in mind that the squad has not yet dropped back-to-back games against the spread this season.
The wins brought NIU up to 5-2 and the Chippewas to 4-3. Two defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: NIU is stumbling into the matchup with the 242nd most rushing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 18 on the season. CMU has experienced some struggles of their own as they are 216th worst in the nation in passing touchdowns allowed, with 13 on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
