Northern Illinois football opens 2022 season as huge favorite in Week 1; take the over

Week 1 of the 2022-23 season begins early for the Northern Illinois football program.

The Huskies will open the season with a home meeting against Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. Thursday. These two teams last met in 2017, when Northern Illinois rolled to a 38-10 win for its 27th victory in 38 meetings with Eastern Illinois.

This year’s matchup shouldn’t be much of a challenge for the Huskies, at least according to the latest betting odds. Northern Illinois is a 33.5-point favorite, per WynnBET’s online sportsbook, against its FCS foe in the season opener. The total for this matchup is 53 as of Wednesday morning.

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It is easy to see why there is strong belief in the Huskies in 2022. They return 21 starters on offense and defense from a team that won a title in the Mid-American Conference with a 9-5 overall record a year ago. NIU went 6-2 in conference play, and were picked by league media to repeat at MAC champs.

Quarterback Rocky Lombardi returns to play behind an offensive line that brings back four starters. After transferring from Michigan State, Lombardi threw for 2,597 yards and 15 touchdowns last season. NIU will have to reload at running back after Jay Ducker, MAC Freshman of the Year, transferred to Memphis.

On the other side of the ball, Northern Illinois is hoping that its experience will lead to a better showing. The Huskies ranked 10th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 32.2 points per game. They bring back nine starters, including linebacker Kyle Pugh who is set to play his eighth season with the program.

SP+, which is an advanced stats model created by Bill Connelly of ESPN, projects the score for every college football game. Per SP+, Northern Illinois is projected to cruise to a 51-12 victory over Eastern Illinois to begin the 2022 campaign. Those numbers would suggest that the over might be the best bet for this game.

2022 Schedule for Northern Illinois

• Sept. 1: vs. Eastern Illinois
• Sept. 10: at Tulsa
• Sept. 17: vs. Vanderbilt
• Sept. 24: at Kentucky
• Oct. 1: at Ball State
• Oct. 8: vs. Toledo
• Oct. 15: at Eastern Michigan
• Oct. 22: at Ohio
• Nov. 2: vs. Central Michigan
• Nov. 9: at Western Michigan
• Nov. 16: vs. Miami
• Nov. 26: vs. Akron