The Northern Illinois Huskies were the better team late in the season. They have won three of their past four games. The Fresno State Bulldogs struggled just to qualify for this game. They did not have a promising November. They have dropped three of their past four bouts and only won six games.

Furthermore, the Huskies have an elite defense. This defense compares to many of the defenses seen in bigger conferences. They kept NC State of the ACC to 24 points. Fresno State relies heavily on the passing game but does not have their #1 QB who entered the portal. This is great news for the Huskies who are keeping opponents to only 169 passing yards per game, good for seventh in the country. Take the better overall team with the better defense here as both starting QB's are not playing.