Chris Jordan Big Dog Winner ...


600♦ NORTHERN ILLINOIS HUSKIES - Honestly, I don't understand the line at all. The only thing I make of it is that South Florida hails from the Big East, and the Huskies are coming out of the Mid-American Conference.

But in this game, that doesn't matter one bit.

The Huskies are hungry, and those who remain from last season's run to the postseason, which ended with a loss in the Independence Bowl, 17-10 to Louisiana Tech, it's a game they want to win outright, not just play well in.

I actually wouldn't be surprised if Northern Illinois were able to win this game.

I know South Florida appears to have a sound defense all around, but this is also a Bulls team that lost five of its last seven football games after it lost third-year starting QB Matt Grothe to a season-ending injury in Week 3.

And before you tell me one of those wins came against West Virginia, I'll remind you that has quietly become a nice little budding rivalry in the Big East. And, for whatever reason, the Mountaineers have lost three of five games overall against USF. Just tells me the Bulls got up for that game.

But why couldn't they against Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Miami or U Conn? I know those are powerhouse programs, but they weren't even competitive Their offense were non-existent. Their 90th-ranked passing game was exposed. Their masked 31st-ranked defense was decimated.

And now they catch an NIU team that has taken their lumps during an up-and-down season, in which they've all grown up. It'd be hard for you to show me any kind of intensity from South Florida, that Northern Illinois has demonstrated down the stretch, even in very tough losses to Ohio and Central Michigan.

Well-rested, the Huskies are healed up from the grind-it-out campaign the MAC teams play, and I believe with this one being early - the first game of the day - the Huskies will be the team ready and raring to go.

The Huskies posted 30.8 points and 354.1 total yards per game, including a staggering 202.4 rushing ypg. ON the flipside, the defense yielded a mere 21.2 points and 323.6 yards per contest (119 rushing ypg). I expect their best effort in what will be a much closer game than the oddsmakers think!

PAID AND CONFIRMED