EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Friday, November 30^th, the (7-5) Northern Illinois Huskies will take on the (10-2) Buffalo Bulls in the MAC Championship Game.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Buffalo 30.0 – Northern Illinois 24.8 with an over/under of 54.8.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Buffalo 31 – Northern Illinois 24.

Mark is predicting a final score of Buffalo 33 – Northern Illinois 21.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Buffalo 219.1 YPG (76^th) > Northern Illinois 141.3 YPG (121^st)

Rushing offense: Buffalo 200.3 YPG (40^th) > Northern Illinois 176.7 (56^th)

Scoring offense: Buffalo 35.3 PPG (26^th) > Northern Illinois 19.9 PPG (122^nd)

Scoring defense: Northern Illinois 20.9 PPG (24^th) > Buffalo 24.3 PPG (41^st)

Passing defense: Buffalo 174.9 YPG (13^th) > Northern Illinois 237.0 YPG (76^th)

Rushing defense: Northern Illinois 107.0 YPG (13^th) > Buffalo 170.0 YPG (75^th)

Turnover Margin Per Game: Buffalo +0.2 (47^th) > Northern Illinois +0.1 (62^nd)

Strength of Schedule:

Northern Illinois is (7-5) with victories over Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Ohio, BYU, Akron, and Toledo.  They were defeated by Iowa, Utah, Florida State, Miami (OH), and Western Michigan.

Buffalo is (10-2) with victories over Delaware State, Temple, Eastern Michigan, Rutgers, Central Michigan, Akron, Toledo, Miami (OH), Kent State, and Bowling Green.  They were defeated by Army and Ohio.

Betting Trends: 

– Northern Illinois is 5-7-1 against the spread this season while Buffalo is 10-2.

– Northern Illinois is 4-9 against the over/under this season whereas Buffalo is 8-4.

Bottom Line

Northern Illinois is one of the lowest scoring teams in the country (19.9 PPG) mostly due to inept quarterback play.  Buffalo features a very well-balanced offense and a vastly underrated defense.  The Bulls have athletic marvel Tyree Jackson at quarterback and one of the best receivers in the nation in Anthony Johnson.  Buffalo was clearly the class of the MAC this season and will prove it with a blowout victory.

Buffalo wins 36-17

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