Northern Illinois is hosting Western Michigan on Tuesday night of Week 13. The game will take place at 7:00 p.m. ET in DeKalb, Illinois.
The Broncos are 6.5-point road favorites in this game on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total set at 38.5 points. This is a preview, prediction and pick for this MAC conference matchup.
Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois prediction, preview
Western Michigan Preview
The Broncos are leading the MAC with just two weeks left in the regular season. There is a cluster of five two-loss teams behind Western Michigan vying to compete in the MAC title game. The Broncos have two very winnable games against Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan left to avoid dropping into that hectic two-loss group. Western Michigan will be favored in both of those games, with a guaranteed spot in the conference title game if it wins out. This Western Michigan team is built on its defense. The Broncos rank second in the conference in total defense and scoring defense this season. Dual-threat quarterback Broc Lowery does it all for the Western Michigan offense, making the right plays to win games on the back of his strong defense.
Northern Illinois Preview
Northern Illinois is having a down season after a special 2024, highlighted by upsetting Notre Dame. The Huskies are 2-4 in conference play and have particularly struggled against the top teams in the league. Their season-long defensive numbers are solid. However, against the three top-half MAC teams they have faced, they gave up 25 points to Miami, 48 points to Ohio and 42 points to Toledo. The Huskies are not built to win in a shootout, so they need their defense to come to play if they want to pull off the upset over Western Michigan. The Huskies were completely devoid of a passing offense most of the season, so they decided to make a change to Jalen Macon last week. It was against the worst team in the country, UMass, but Macon was fantastic on the ground and also provided a passing threat.
Western Michigan vs. Northern Illinois pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for Western Michigan and Northern Illinois to get over the total of 38.5 points. Northern Illinois has struggled to stop the better teams in the conference, like Ohio and Toledo. Those teams both got into the 40s against Northern Illinois. While the Broncos aren’t particularly explosive offensively, they should be able to hit some big plays against Northern Illinois. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois’ offense looks much better with Jalen Macon. Macon should be able to generate some explosive passing plays, something the Huskies haven’t done all season. Also, it will be harder for Western Michigan to prepare for Macon with only one game’s worth of tape on the quarterback. Both offenses should get enough points on the board to get this game over the total.
