Pinned
Link copied
The Northern Illinois Huskies and the Eastern Michigan Eagles are set to square off in a Mid-American matchup at 2:30 p.m. ET Oct. 2 at Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium. After these two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one of them is set up to suffer a discouraging change of fortune.
When you finish with 292 more yards than your opponent like NIU did last week, a favorable outcome is almost sure to follow. Everything went their way against the Maine Black Bears as they made off with a 41-14 victory. QB Rocky Lombardi was a one-man wrecking crew for the Huskies, passing for one TD and 282 yards on 24 attempts in addition to rushing for three TDs and 127 yards. Lombardi put himself on the highlight reel with a 64-yard TD scramble in the fourth quarter.
A well-balanced attack led EMU over the Texas State Bobcats every single quarter on their way to victory last week. EMU took their game at home with ease, bagging a 59-21 win over Texas State. EMU's QB Ben Bryant was on fire, passing for three TDs and 228 yards on 32 attempts in addition to rushing for one TD and 62 yards.
This next contest is expected to be close, with the Huskies going off at just a 2.5-point favorite. They covered a 21.5-point spread last week, so bettors might be thinking that will translate to further success against a lower spread.
The wins brought NIU up to 2-2 and the Eagles to 3-1. A pair of defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: NIU is stumbling into the matchup with the 246th most rushing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up 16 on the season. EMUs have had an even harder time: they are 209th worst in the nation in rushing touchdowns allowed, with eight on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
