Illinois State vs Northern Illinois Picks and Predictions for Saturday, September 12th, 2026

By: Cameron Ross Published 09/11/2026, 10:58 PM ET

Illinois State vs Northern Illinois Information

The Illinois State Redbirds will be on the road Saturday for a 7:00 PM game inside Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, IL, against the Northern Illinois Huskies. Illinois State comes into its third game of the season undefeated following a 31-point road victory over Western Illinois. Northern Illinois will make its first home appearance of the year with a 0-1 record after suffering a 40-point loss at Iowa last week.  Stay in the loop with our College Football Picks.

Illinois State Preview

Tyler Lofton leads Illinois State this season with 152 yards and two scores on 12 carries. Victor Dawson has 29 carries for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns this year. Chase Kwiatkowski has added 111 yards on 6 carries, and Seth Glatz is 4th on the roster with 103 yards and 2 scores on 11 carries.Dylan Lord leads the team with 141 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 receptions. Luke Mailander has added a second 72 yards on 3 catches, and Stevan Gavric has added 4 catches for 60 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ale Herrera has 4 catches for 52 yards and 1 touchdown.

Northern Illinois Preview

Northern Illinois struggled to generate offense in its season opener, finishing with only 120 total yards in a shutout loss against Iowa. Defensively, NIU was just as bad, giving up 50-7 yards and 40 points, including 33 in the first half. Taron Dickens led the way with 9 completions for 96 yards. Jalen Macon completed 4 of his 10 passes for 17 yards. Tell Johnson Jr. led the team with 8 carries for 16 yards. Kelan McInerney was the most productive Northern Illinois receiver with 55 yards. La'Don Bryant added 42 yards on 4 catches.

Illinois State vs Northern Illinois Pick

Illinois State is the lower-level program, but the Redbirds enter this matchup playing significantly better football. Their offense has been balanced and productive, while Northern Illinois struggled immensely last week. Look for Illinois State to pressure the Huskies, leading to the win and cover on the road.

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  • Pick: Illinois State Redbirds -4.5
  • Secondary: Over 47.5

Final Score Prediction: Illinois State Redbirds win and cover 41-31.

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