Our side
MoneylineNIU to win
ours 59%
Projected score
23–28
UTEP – NIU
2026-11-28 · kickoff TBD
Huskie Stadium · Dekalb, IL
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
UTEP lead
1–0
· 1 meeting since 1996
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
even
10 ranks apart
UTEP Miners #177 rush offense
Northern Illinois Huskies #167 run defense
Pass game
edge Northern Illinois Huskies
203 ranks
UTEP Miners #250 pass offense
Northern Illinois Huskies #47 pass defense
Run game
edge UTEP Miners
74 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #133 rush offense
UTEP Miners #59 run defense
Pass game
edge UTEP Miners
118 ranks
Northern Illinois Huskies #232 pass offense
UTEP Miners #114 pass defense
UTEP Miners
Balanced · 50% run
Avg pace
Dual-threat QB · 44 rush ypg
Northern Illinois Huskies
Run-heavy · 71% run
Ball-control
Scotty Walden · 6-22 · defense-minded
Thomas Hammock · 35-47
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
UTEP Miners
TE
Cash Cheeks
3 rec · 51 yds · 2 TD
#55 TE
QB
EJ Colson Jr.
291 pass yds · 4 TD · 0 INT
#73 QB
RB
Tavorus Jones
128 rush yds · 1 TD · 4 rec
#205 RB
DL
Derek Burns
4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL
#516 DL
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
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
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
UTEP offense vs Northern Illinois defense-3.6 pts
Northern Illinois offense vs UTEP defense-1.7 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 1,202 mi
Altitude · context only915 m lower 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.