The GoDaddy.com Bowl Game being played this evening features the Arkansas State Red Wolves (10-2, 8-0, 1st in the Sun Belt Conference) and the Northern Illinois Huskies (10-3, 8-1, 1st in the Mid American Conference West).
The Red Wolves have the 18th ranked pass offense and 13th ranked rushing defense in the nation. They have limited opponents to less than 20 points per game. Arkansas State has won 9 in a row. Ryan Alpin has passed for 3235 yards and 18 TDs this year, but he’s also tossed 13 INTs.
The Huskies are 8th in the nation in rushing offense and have scored 40 or more points in 9 of their 12 games and they won three of those in which they did not score 40 points. Northern Illinois has won 8 in a row at the end of the season. Chandler Harnish has thrown for 26 TDs while allowing on ly 5 INTs. He’s also rushed for nearly 1400 yards this year.
One factor that might play a role in this game is the coaching merry-go-round that seems to affect so many teams this year. Arkansas State’s head coach Hugh Freeze has taken the head man’s job at Mississippi. As a result, the Red Wolves will be playing under assistant coach David Gunn. (Former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was named Arkansas State's next coach and will take the reins after this game is over.)
The line on this game has Northern Illinois favored by 1.5 points and an o/u of 63 points.
Two of those low scoring games by Northern Illinois came at the tail end of the season, but they won both: E. Michigan 18-12, Ohio 23-20.
Look for the Huskies to defeat the Red Wolves 38-27 with the help of a couple of turnovers.
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