by James Q
Wednesday, Sep 01, 2021NCAA FOOTBALL: Northern Illinois vs Georgia Tech Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/04/2021
Game Time: 7:30 EDT, Saturday, September 4th, 2021
Venue: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Where to Watch: ACC Network
Opening NCAAF Odds at USA Sportsbooks
FanDuel: Georgia Tech -18.5; O/U 57.5
BetMGM: Georgia Tech -18; O/U 57.5
DraftKings: Georgia Tech --18; O/U 57
Season Record
Northern Illinois 0-0 (MAC)
Georgia Tech 0-0 (ACC)
Will Rogers is 8-3 his last 11 releases, and is featuring his College Football Game of the Month in Saturday NCAA action. It's available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Northern Illinois vs Georgia Tech Preview and Analysis
Recent Form
The Northern Illinois Huskies were 0-6 in 2020. They got spanked by everyone they played in a shortened conference only season. Last season was the worst. A lot of college football bets paid off by betting against Northern Illinois. Easy wager.
Offensive Analysis
Northern Illinois averaged 367.5 yards per game. A mix of bad passing and bad rushing. QB Ross Bowers threw for 1,365 yards and 10 TDs with 2 interceptions. His completion percentage was 58%. The good news for the upcoming season is they will have a new quarterback. Unless there is some magical way Ross can have a seventh college season (4 at Cal, 2 at Northern Illinois) “a lot of people go to college for 7 years”... “yeah they’re called Doctors”.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scored 24.3 points a game last season. They scored 34 total touchdowns. It helped that quarterback Jeff Sims tossed for 1800 yards and 13 TDs through the air and led the team in rushing for 500 yards and 6 TDs. Hopefully they can take this exciting young quarterback and surround him with talent… maybe win a few more than 3 games?
Defensive Analysis
Northern Illinois defense gave up 418.8 yards per game. They gave up 50 more yards then they got every time they played. It wasn’t the best college football to watch. The only positive defensive stat I could find was they were ½ a turnover better than their opponents. The NIU Huskies can make you real money betting against them… you just have to find the best odds and payouts.
Georgia tech had big losses last season. Giving up 73 points to the Clemson Tigers, 34 to Pitt, 49 to UCF, 31 to Notre Dame… the list goes on. They were all losses. Last season’s opener was a squeaker win over FSU 16-13 and the defense looked strong… Then a sudden downward spiral that saw them get scored on like a freshman safety trying to cover an Alabama receiver. They won’t be better this year.
Huskies vs Yellow jackets Prediction
This Georgia Tech game is more than a first home game. It’s a warm up win against a cream puff underdog, for a Yellow jackets team that went 3-7 last season. Normally I don’t bet on football if the school has more NBA alums than NFL… but this is easy money.
The Prediction for Saturday September 4th is Georgia Tech 47 - Northern Illinois 13
I’ll take GT with the spread at 18 and the Over if it stays at 57.
Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NCAAF Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Huskies/Yellow Jackets preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.
NCAAF Betting Trends
NIU is 2-4 ATS over their last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 9 of NIU’s last 13 games
Georgia Tech is 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games
Key Injuries
NIU- none reported
GT- none reported
Players to Watch
NIU: Jordan Gandy. This CB had 25 solo tackles and assisted on 16 more. And when you play behind a defensive line that lets everyone through… those solos are a big deal.
GT: Jordan Domineck. He only started 4 games last season at Defensive End and got 4 sacks which led Georgia Tech in sacks. He also led the team in tackles for loss. His numbers should go through the roof as the full time starter.
Notable Quotes
“We have to handle the environment early,We have to play clean football. We can’t be wilding out because of the White-Out or whatever they have going on there. This will be the first game in front of fans for a lot of guys, and I think we have to embrace that.” -NIU head coach Tommy Hammock lowering expectations subtly.
“There’s going to be some really good young players that are eventually going to continue to develop and move up, but it’s nice to have some good, quality experience so they don’t have to be thrown in the fire as fast as we might have had to in recent years,” -GT coach Geoff Collins, subtly apologizing for the horrible results of recent years.
Statistical Leaders
NIU
Passing- QB R. Bowers, 1,365 yards
Rushing- RB H Waylee, 456 yards
Receiving- WR T Ritchie 597 yards
GT
Passing- QB J. Sims 1,881 yards
Rushing- QB J. Sims 492 yards
Receiving- WR J. Camp 439 yards
Coaches:
NIU: Thomas Hammock.
GT: Geoff Collins
Weather Forecast
Mostly Sunny, 86*, 10% precipitation.
James Q
About the Author:
James Q. has been involved with sports and gambling his entire life. A former division 1 scholarship basketball player, James understands sports (and especially basketball) inside-and-out. Following his basketball playing days, James parlayed his gambling skills into a semi-pro poker career. James resides in Los Angeles, and especially loves the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Dodgers. And when he isn't betting on sports (and writing about it), James can be found performing stand-up comedy on the Sunset Strip.
