N. Illinois & Toledo Fight for MAC West Title

The Mid-American Conference may not be the most exciting in college football, but Tuesday’s match-up offers drama. The N. Illinois Huskies host the Toledo Rockets in a game between the top two teams in the MAC West division. Both of these squads are currently undefeated in conference play, and will be battling for the right to play in a bowl game.

Toledo has been a struggling program over the last few years, but has had much success in the past. Head coach Tim Beckman took over the job in 2009 and guided the Rockets to a 5-7 record. Toledo has already surpassed last year’s win total with 3 games left to play. Bowling Green and the once prominent Central Michigan Chippewas are having “down” seasons and should pose too much of a problem for the Rockets. If they can somehow find a way to score against the dominating defense of N. Illinois, they would have a clear path to the West title.

The Huskies have one of the best rushing attacks in the country as well as the 16th ranked defense. Allowing 18.7 points per game has helped this one-dimensional offense flourish. Running back Chad Spann already has 1000 yards on the ground and 12 touchdowns. He is helped by quarterback Chandler Harnish who has contributed an additional 559 yards and 4 touchdowns to the ground game. Harnish hasn’t been asked to do too much throwing the ball, but when he does he’s been tremendous. He completes nearly 66% of his passes, and has thrown 12 touchdown passes to just 4 interceptions. Defenses are fully aware of what he can do which also helps the Huskies to pound the ball on the ground.

Toledo’s offense is not nearly as dynamic as N. Illinois, but they are extremely effective. Adonis Thomas has roughly half as many yards as Spann, but can make plays when needed to. Austin Dantin has been a weak point throwing the football, and will need to be far more accurate Tuesday than he’s been all year. Throwing more interceptions than touchdowns is never a good thing for a quarterback, but Dantin makes up for his lack of passing touch with his red-zone prowess. He leads the Rockets with 8 rushing touchdowns, and will need to contribute a few against the Huskies “D” if Toledo has any chance of pulling off the upset.

Despite the similarities in record, the oddsmakers have listed N. Illinois as a hefty 11 point favorite for this game. This is an interesting line that requires an expert football handicapper to do his homework. As one of the best college football experts in the business, I have, and will deliver a solid 5* winner to all of my clients Tuesday night. Go to Coverthenumber.com, and join me as I take full advantage of this point spread discrepancy.

Related posts:

1. Toledo hosts Northern Illinois in MAC Conference Showdown
2. Boise St takes on Improved Toledo Friday Night
3. Huskies take on the Falcons in MAC Conference Battle
4. Northern Illinois hosts Ball St in MAC Battle
5. Wildcats take on Rockets: NCAA Friday Football

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