The Northern Illinois Huskies will look for their first win of the season when they travel to take on the Wyoming Cowboys. Northern Illinois is 0-5 and 1-4 against the spread. It has struggled to put points on the scoreboard to start the year. The Huskies are coming off a game against Air Force in which they scored seven points. They are only averaging 12.4 points per game through their first five contests. Wyoming comes into this matchup 3-3 and is 2-0 on its home field. The Cowboys recently defeated San Jose State 16-13 in overtime. Wyoming has also struggled with offense. Quarterback Tyler Hughes has had more interceptions than touchdowns this season, with seven interceptions and only three touchdowns. His struggles showed two weeks ago when he only finished the game against North Dakota State with 52 yards and an interception, and the Cowboys lost 28-0.
Between these two, somehow it is the 0-5 team that has had the more promising offense. Northern Illinois quarterback Taron Dickens has been solid this season with 977 yards passing, three touchdowns and three interceptions. The Huskies' offense has been able to move the ball, averaging 290.8 total yards per game, but they sit as a winless team because they have been unable to finish drives. With the Huskies only covering in one of their first five games, they are receiving a favorable line in this game -- and they can be a solid team to back if they can finish their drives. Wyoming's offense has also been inconsistent, scoring 16 or fewer points in three of their first six games. My reservations with Wyoming is that it has been unable to play without turning the football over -- it is -7 in turnover differentials this season. If Northern Illinois can force some turnovers, it may exactly be what the offense needs to jumpstart scoring efforts.
Northern Illinois vs Wyoming prediction: Northern Illinois +7.5 (-108) available at time of publishing. Playable to +7.
