Northern Illinois vs Toledo Predictions & MAC Betting Picks

Dan Kilbridge | 12 mins

As far as MAC college football betting goes, west side is undoubtedly the best side.
Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Eastern Michigan have all looked like serious contenders in the West division. But all six teams in the East division are currently below .500 and in need of a spark entering Week 6.
This isn’t all that surprising with the West having won four of the last five conference titles, and we’ve got a good matchup on that side this week with Northern Illinois playing at Toledo.
The Huskies picked up a big win over Eastern Michigan Saturday in their first MAC game of the year. They’re a +12.5 underdog this week against a Rockets team that just pounded UMass, 45-7. The Minutemen may be the worst team in college football, but at least Toledo finally got its offense going after a sluggish start to the season.
The West division race is clearly the one to watch so far, and we’ll get a clearer picture at the top when the Huskies and Rockets kick things off at noon Saturday in the Glass Bowl.
Week 6 MAC Best Bets
Toledo -12.5 over Northern Illinois
The Rockets got freshman quarterback Dequan Finn involved last week, with 102 passing yards and two total scores in the win over Massachusetts. He’s been the best playmaker so far this season and we expect to see a lot more of him against the Huskies, with starter Carter Bradley looking underwhelming again.
It’s pretty amazing the Huskies beat Eastern Michigan after giving up 338 passing yards. Northern Illinois quarterback Rocky Lombardi was just 9 of 20 for 84 yards, with the Huskies getting it done on the ground. That won’t happen against a better defense like Toledo, and we expect the Rockets offense to keep the momentum going.
Looking at the college football odds, we’re glad the line is still less than two touchdowns. We’re on Toledo -12.5 at BetMGM. ➜
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Central Michigan-Ohio Under 56.5
Ohio finally found something that worked during its first win of the season Saturday. The Bobcats pounded the rock all afternoon behind backup quarterback Armani Rogers, rushing for a ridiculous 398 yards against Akron. We’re thinking they’ll stick with that approach this week.
The Bobcats are also terrible against the run, giving up 248.6 yards per game on the ground. That’s something the Chippewas will want to exploit. We’re expecting a lot of ground-and-pound from both squads in a relatively ugly game.
The total opened at 55.5 on various betting apps, and it’s up to 56.5 at Caesars Sportsbook. We’re taking the Under.
Akron-Bowling Green Over 46
We understand why this total is so low at sportsbooks and betting sites. Neither team averages more than 19 points per game and this has snoozer written all over it. However, we do see this as an opportunity for the Falcons to have some success on that side of the ball.
Akron’s defense looked awful without star middle linebacker Bubba Arslanian, who missed last week’s game due to injury. The Falcons should be able to exploit it again after Ohio ran for 398 yards last week against the Zips.
As bad as Bowling Green’s offense has looked at times, Akron’s defense has been worse. Over 46 points at FanDuel ➜ is the play.
Week 6 MAC Matchups and Point Spreads
Game | Spread | Total |
---|---|---|
Northern Illinois at Toledo | TOL -12.5 ➜ | 52.5 ➜ |
Akron at Bowling Green | BGSU -14.5 ➜ | 46 ➜ |
Miami (Ohio) at Eastern Michigan | MIAMI -1.5 ➜ | 59 ➜ |
Ball State at Western Michigan | WMU -11 ➜ | 57.5 ➜ |
Central Michigan at Ohio | CMU -6 ➜ | 56.5 ➜ |
Buffalo at Kent State | KENT -5.5 ➜ | 64.5 ➜ |
Odds via DraftKings ➜ and current as of publication. Check out our DraftKings sportsbook review.
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