Holy Cross vs Northern Illinois Prediction 8/30/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

The Holy Cross Crusaders and the Northern Illinois Huskies meet Saturday in college football action from Huskie Stadium. Here’s a Holy Cross vs Northern Illinois prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Holy Cross vs Northern Illinois pick. We will examine:

The Holy Cross Crusaders recent form and player performance

The Northern Illinois Huskies recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Holy Cross Crusaders

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Northern Illinois Huskies

Recent betting trends in games played between Holy Cross and Northern Illinois

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Holy Cross vs Northern Illinois game

Holy Cross Crusaders Betting Preview

The bad news for last year’s Crusaders squad is that they went a middling 6-6 overall in the record column. The good (or rather, great) news is that Holy Cross was able to muster a very nice 5-1 run in Patriot League play. That effort would give the Crusaders a conference co-championship along with Lehigh, who made it to the FCS via a much-better 9-4 overall record—not to mention a head-to-head win over Holy Cross on November 9. The Crusaders limped out of the gate with four losses in their first five games, but finished strong with a 5-2 run the rest of the way. The only defeats during that span came versus the aforementioned Mountain Hawks and also in a road loss to Harvard on October 19.

All of that was a pretty nice result for head coach Dan Curran’s first year. In 2025 he’s back for his second season and will try to bag another win or two along the way. The schedule is looking pretty tough however, as Holy Cross has road games versus not only Lehigh but also Richmond to deal with (this opener won’t be easy either). Fortunately, Curran has his two second-year coordinators back at his side. Andrew Dresner will return on offense and Brian Vaganek will take the defense.

Northern Illinois Huskies Betting Preview

Over on the Northern Illinois side, they had their ups and downs in a wild 2024 campaign, but everything ended on a high note. The Huskies were able to bag their first-ever win over a top-10 ranked team on September 7. That one came in a 16-14 road victory in South Bend and vaulted Northern Illinois into the No. 25 slot in the September 9 AP Poll. It was the first time the Huskies had been ranked since December 2013. It was the Fighting Irish’s only loss of the season until a CFP defeat at the hands of eventual champion Ohio State. All of that said, NIU’s season couldn’t sustain those heights as they finished 8-5 overall with a middling 4-4 effort in Mid-American Conference games. That left NIU all the way down in seventh place behind Miami-OH, Ohio, Buffalo, Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Toledo. Still, NIU earned their way into the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, where they took out Fresno State 28-20 in double overtime on December 23.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Huskies have Thomas Hammock back for his seventh year at the helm. Hammock has a new pair of coordinators at his side, though: Quinn Sanders on offense and Rob Harley on defense. It’ll be the team’s last season in the MAC however, as their football program will join the Mountain West in 2026. In the meantime, NIU has to deal with a slew of outgoing transfers, including QB Ethan Hampton (Illinois). All indications show this season as a rebuilding campaign for the Huskies.

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies will win

• Northern Illinois has won five of its last six games against non-conference opponents.

Why the Holy Cross Crusaders will win

• Northern Illinois has failed to cover the spread in each of its last five home games.

Total Points Facts

• Four of Northern Illinois’ last five home openers have gone OVER the total points line.

Holy Cross vs Northern Illinois Prediction

I’ll stay with Northern Illinois. Even with the almost-total rebuild, this should be a highly manageable opener matchup for the Huskies. They’ve still got a good offensive line and will likely pound the ball via the run in most situations. There are some interesting young pieces in the passing game as well, even given the vast inexperience. Long story short, NIU should be able to stretch their legs a little bit here and run right past an overmatched opponent.