← Matchups

Northern Illinois

MAC · 0-2 · power -0.1 · #185
Our side · spreadNIU +35.5 our number ARIZ -25.1 · 10.4 pts from the market our number starts from the opening line and is corrected +0.4 for this matchup by our data on both teams

Arizona

B12 · 1-1 (0-1 B12) · power +22.9 · #22
Our side
SpreadNIU +35.5 ours ARIZ -25.1
TotalUnder 50.5 ours 48.4
MoneylineARIZ to win ours 91% · book 97%
Distance from the market 10.4 pts / -2.1 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 12–37 NIU – ARIZ
2026-09-19 · 10:30 PM Casino Del Sol Stadium · Tucson, AZ Early season

The books 1 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book NIU spreadARIZ spread OverUnder NIU winARIZ win NIU TT overNIU TT under ARIZ TT overARIZ TT under
FanDuel

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadArizona -25.1
the marketArizona -35.5
Total48.4
the market50.5
Arizona win91% vs 97%

Both percentages are Arizona’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

First recorded meeting between these programs
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game even 21 ranks apart
Northern Illinois Huskies #133 rush offense Arizona Wildcats #112 run defense
Pass game edge Arizona Wildcats 154 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #232 pass offense Arizona Wildcats #78 pass defense
Run game edge Arizona Wildcats 102 ranks
Arizona Wildcats #65 rush offense Northern Illinois Huskies #167 run defense
Pass game edge Northern Illinois Huskies 59 ranks
Arizona Wildcats #106 pass offense Northern Illinois Huskies #47 pass defense
Northern Illinois Huskies Run-heavy · 71% run Ball-control Arizona Wildcats Balanced · 51% run Avg pace
Thomas Hammock · 35-47 Brent Brennan · 47-60

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Northern Illinois Huskies
LB Jashawn Nelson 19 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 1.5 TFL #47 LB
DB Avery Jones 11 tkl #136 DB
LB Jack Murray 18 tkl · 0.5 TFL #108 LB
DB Andruw Ellis 1 tkl · 1 INT #204 DB
Arizona Wildcats
QB Noah Fifita 492 pass yds · 3 TD · 1 INT #42 QB
WR Giovanni Richardson 13 rec · 144 yds #162 WR
LB Chase Kennedy 9 tkl · 2.5 sacks · 2.5 TFL #182 LB
RB Kedrick Reescano 97 rush yds · 2 TD · 3 rec #152 RB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Northern Illinois HuskiesMAC -0.1 -4.2 +4.1 #185
Arizona WildcatsB12 +22.9 +7.1 +15.8 #22

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Northern Illinois offense vs Arizona defense-20.0 pts
Arizona offense vs Northern Illinois defense+3.1 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 1,388 mi
Altitude · context only473 m higher than the visitor's home elevation

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.