Northern Illinois Huskies vs Maryland Terrapins Prediction, Odds and Picks for Friday, 09/05/25

We have a few Friday night games on the college football slate, including the Northern Illinois Huskies vs the Maryland Terrapins. These were two teams with very different Week 1 showings, and they are teams with very different styles and identities. Maryland seemed to be miles ahead in their opener, beating Florida Atlantic by a score of 39-7. Northern Illinois, on the other hand, struggled to a 19-17 win over Holy Cross. Yikes. It was Week 1, and teams make huge jumps between Week 1 and Week 2, but I like what I saw out of Maryland. I think they will be able to score again this week, and I have real reservations about the NIU offense. My Northern Illinois vs Maryland best bet is Maryland -17.5.

Maryland had massive roster turnover on both sides of the ball, including returning only one defensive starter. On offense, they handed the keys over to freshman QB Malik Washington, and he went 27/43 for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first outing. Not bad. Notably, he did not have a single rushing attempt, speaking to his comfort in the pocket and his efficient decision-making. He is probably going to be really good as he continues to develop. The Huskies, on the other hand, went nowhere on offense. They only managed one offensive TD against lowly Holy Cross (the other score was a kick return), and they did not seem confident in their new QB, allowing him to throw only 18 times while they tried to win with ball control and defense. The Husky defense should be their calling card, but they should be overmatched by Maryland. If they can’t keep the Terps off the board, NIU’s offense should struggle to score themselves, and this game should be a cover for Maryland solely based on the lack of scoring from the Huskies. Give me the Terps here.

Northern Illinois vs Maryland Prediction: Maryland -17.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.