Northern Illinois vs Maryland Prediction 9/5/2025 Today’s College Football Picks

The Northern Illinois Huskies and the Maryland Terrapins meet in week 2 college football action from the SECU Stadium on Friday. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Maryland Terrapins prediction.

Northern Illinois Huskies Recap

The Northern Illinois Huskies come into this game looking to build on a narrow 19-17 win over Holy Cross last time out to sit at 1-0 on the year. After this game, Northern Illinois will take on Mississippi State on the road.

Huskies Looking For Big Road Upset

Josh Holst threw for 101 yards on 12 of 18 passing with an interception while Chavon Wright had a team-high 77 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and Telly Johnson Jr. added 67 rushing yards on 21 carries. DeAree Rogers chipped in 7 receptions for 73 yards while Jaylen Poe contributed 5 catches for 24 yards as well in the win. Quinn Urwiler led NIU with 10 total tackles including 5 solo tackles while Roy Williams had a sack and Muhammed Jammeh added an interception as well in the victory.

Why the Northern Illinois Huskies will win

• Maryland has lost each of its last three games as a favorite against teams from Illinois.
• Northern Illinois has won three of its last four road openers as an underdog.
• Northern Illinois has covered the spread in each of its last six road openers.
• Maryland has failed to cover the spread in each of its last six games against teams from Illinois.

Maryland Terrapins Recap

The Maryland Terrapins come into this game looking to add on to their 39-7 win over FAU last time out to sit at 1-0 so far this season. After this game, the Terrapins will take on the Towson Tigers at home.

Terrapins Looking For Another Big Win

Malik Washington threw for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 of 43 passing while DeJuan Williams had a team-high 54 rushing yards on 10 carries and Shaleak Knotts chipped in 59 receiving yards with a touchdown. Jalil Farooq added 4 grabs for 43 yards while Kaleb Webb and Dorian Fleming each had a touchdown grab with Fleming adding a team-high 6 receptions for the Terps in the win. On defense, Daniel Wingate led the Terrapins with 10 total tackles including 9 solo tackles while Sidney Stewart and Jayden Shipps each had a sack. The aforementioned Wingate had a 20-yard pick-six while Dontay Joyner, Ricardo Cooper Jr., Lavain Scruggs, Braydon Lee and La’khi Roland each added an interception for Maryland in the winning effort.

Why the Maryland Terrapins will win

• Maryland has won each of its last 16 games against non-conference opponents.
• Northern Illinois has lost each of its last six September games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Northern Illinois has failed to cover the spread in each of its last four games against opponents from the Big Ten Conference.
• Maryland has covered the spread in five of its last six games against non-conference opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Northern Illinois’ last six games as an underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Each of Maryland’s last five home games in September have gone OVER the total points line.

Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Maryland Terrapins Prediction

I’m leaning towards Maryland here. I think the under could be in play too, or a team total under on Northern Illinois, but the Huskies looked brutal against Holy Cross and while I didn’t have the expectation for Maryland in week one, they looked mighty impressive and don’t really have a lookahead spot with Towson on deck. Give me Maryland in a beatdown here.