Week 14 • November 28, 2025, 05:00 PM UTC
4-7
MAC
Power Rank: -23.0
35 FINAL 31
3-8
MAC
Power Rank: -12.1
Kent State covered by 8.5 | Game went Over by 21.5

Kent State defeated Northern Illinois 35–31 in a closely contested finish. Kent State covered the spread; the game went Over. Blue Chip Analytics had rated Northern Illinois 10.9 points stronger on a neutral field.

Kent State @ Northern Illinois Preview

General Information

Week: Week 14
Kick Off (at stadium): 11:00 AM CST
Stadium: Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 28,211
Elevation: 896 ft
HFA Rating: 1.8
Playing Surface: Artifical Turf

Betting Information

Spread Northern Illinois -4.5
Total (O/U) 44.5
Expected Score KENT 20.0 - 24.5 NIU
Power Rank Implied Line Northern Illinois +10.9
Prediction Markets Northern Illinois 66% Win Chance (Kalshi)

Weather Conditions

Forecast for: February 02, 2026
Light snow

Light snow

24.4°F

Wind Chill: 14.1°F
Wind: 10.3 mph NNW
Gusts: 15.4 mph
Precipitation: 0.05"
Humidity: 86%
Rain Chance: 0%
Snow Chance: 77%

Travel & Rest

Kent State (Away)

This Week: 390.8 miles
Last Week: Home Game
Season Total: 7823.7 miles
Body Clock Time: 12:00
Rest Days: 8

Northern Illinois (Home)

This Week: 0.0 miles
Last Week: Home Game
Season Total: 5999.2 miles
Body Clock Time: 11:00
Rest Days: 10

Line Value Calculator

Adjust any factor to update your projected line

Your line Northern Illinois +10.9
Implied value
Betting
Current line Northern Illinois -4.5
Total (O/U) 44.5
Power ratings — adjust if you disagree
Kent State -23.0
Northern Illinois -12.1
Travel impact
Away travel 391 mi
Home travel 0 mi
Rest Northern Illinois +2
Home field — Huskie Stadium
Capacity 28,211
Elevation 896 ft
Weather: Light snow
Temperature 24.4°F
Wind speed 10.3 mph

Positive adjustment = favours home team

What are the key factors for Kent State vs Northern Illinois?

Kent State: Key Factors

Northern Illinois: Key Factors

What happened in the game?

Kent State travels 391 miles to this game, a short road trip.

Kent State arrives with a 1-hour body clock shift.

Kent State won by 4 in a closely contested finish.

Kent State covered the spread by a solid margin.

The total went Over by 21.5 points.

Does weather affect this game at Huskie Stadium?

At 24.4°F, this is a cold-weather game. Cold conditions below 35°F historically compress scoring and reduce passing efficiency, favouring unders and run-heavy offences.

Precipitation chance is 81%, pointing to a wet-field game. High precip probability increases fumble risk and typically compresses both team totals.

Full conditions are shown in the data panel above. Forecast data sourced from WeatherAPI.com. Use the Line Value Calculator to apply a manual weather adjustment to your projected line.

How do Kent State and Northern Illinois compare on power ratings?

Blue Chip Analytics power ratings favour Northern Illinois (-12.1) over Kent State (-23.0) by 10.9 points on a neutral field. After adding home field advantage, the rating-implied line may differ meaningfully from the market spread. Northern Illinois brings a modest home field advantage to this matchup (Blue Chip HFA: 1.8). Add this to the neutral-site differential to arrive at a venue-adjusted line.

Blue Chip Analytics power ratings represent expected point margin against an average FBS opponent on a neutral field, calculated from game data sourced via CollegeFootballData.com (CFBD). They are one input — cross-reference with the travel, rest, and weather data above before drawing conclusions.

Sources

Weather

Kent State won and Kent State covered the spread.