Tuesday NCAA: Northern Illinois (5-5, 4-3 MAC) at Kent St. (3-7, 2-4)
If you don’t watch MAC football much, I won’t lie to you and say Tuesday’s Northern Illinois-Kent State matchup is the game of the year or anything. But if you tune in or decide to bet on WagerWeb.com – NIU is a 3-point favorite – you will get to see one of the better QBs in the country that you probably haven’t heard of.
That would be KSU’s Julian Edelman (think Josh Cribbs). He is the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 144 yards and three touchdowns and throwing for 232 yards and one touchdown last Wednesday in a 41-38 win over Temple, KSU’s first home win over a I-A opponent since 2006.
It was Edelman’s fifth consecutive 100-yard rushing game and sixth of the season. He has surpassed 1,000 yards rushing on the season, becoming just the 25th quarterback in Division I-A history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and passing in the same year. In addition, he is the 12th QB in I-A history with 4,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing in a career. He is averaging 6.2 yards per carry this year and even returned three punts against Temple.
“It’s like chasing a rabbit all day,” said NIU’s Jerry Kill. “He makes plays with his arm as well as his feet.”
Behind Edelman and RB Eugene Jarvis, KSU (which is 0-5 when the opposing team scores first this season) is averaging 42 points in the past three games, winning two of them. The Flashes have the best run game in the MAC (232.8 yards per game). Jarvis, who missed three games midseason with an ankle injury, is averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
NIU has the MAC’s No. 1 defense against the run (130.5) and overall (309.7). But that unit has been exposed a bit in the past two games, as the Huskies have allowed 78 points in losses two teams that also have top-flight QBs in Ball State and and Central Michigan.
The teams meet for the 22nd time. NIU has won 14 of the 21 previous meetings, but is 5-5 all-time in Kent. The Huskies had more than 500 yards of offense in last season’s 27-20 victory.
The Huskies have lost nine games by margins of seven points or less over the past two seasons, including four of their five losses this year.
NCAA Betting at WagerWeb.com
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