UB Stadium - Buffalo, NY
Kickoff: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Northern Illinois -6, Total: 55.5

Northern Illinois will try to keep its MAC title hopes alive on Wednesday when it visits a Buffalo team looking to gain bowl eligibility on Veterans Day.

Both teams are piping hot entering this mid-week clash, as the Huskies (6-2-1 ATS) have ripped off four straight wins (3-0-1 ATS) while the Bulls have won three in a row (2-1 ATS). Northern Illinois is fresh off a 32-27 upset victory at then-No. 24 Toledo, giving the school 46.3 PPG during its four-game win streak. But the win came at a steep price, as starting QB Drew Hare was lost for the season to a ruptured Achilles tendon on a non-contact play, and starting WR Tommylee Lewis sprained his left knee, which puts his status in doubt for Wednesday. Buffalo is coming off a narrow 18-17 win at Kent State where its defense stood tall and held the Golden Flashes to 261 total yards. Despite being in the same conference, these schools haven't met since 2012 when the Huskies rolled to a 45-3 home win. They are also 3-0 SU (2-1 ATS) on the road in this series since 1999, beating the Bulls 31-30 when they last played in UB Stadium in 2011. Nearly all of the betting trends in this matchup expect Northern Illinois to win comfortably again, including the team's 12-0 ATS mark after an upset win as an underdog in conference play since 1992 and its 6-0 ATS record in November road games since 2013. But Buffalo has been perfect in the underdog role this season at 5-0 ATS, and is also 7-1 ATS coming off 2+ straight SU wins in the past three seasons. The only other notable injury for either team on Wednesday is Bulls OL Dillon Guy, who is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Which school will stay in the hunt for the MAC Championship on Tuesday night? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2015 regular season and bowl season. The experts were a combined 54% ATS in Best Bets last week (14-12-1) led by StatFox Dave's impressive 80% clip (4-1).

Northern Illinois has been a difficult offense to defend with 36.2 PPG on 443 total YPG, and these numbers have jumped to 42.0 PPG on 502 total YPG over the past three contests. But losing QB Drew Hare could really hurt, as Hare has thrown for 1,962 yards (7.6 YPA), 14 TD and 4 INT this season. But freshman backup QB Ryan Graham stood tall in his first significant collegiate action, which just happened to be on the road against a ranked Toledo team. He completed 9-of-12 throws for 132 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT, and picked up 41 yards on 10 carries. The 6-foot-1 Graham would really like to have the services of WR Tommylee Lewis (387 rec yds, 3 TD), but he was productive without Lewis last week thanks to WR Kenny Golladay, who caught eight passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. The 6-foot-4 junior leads the team in receptions (54), receiving yards (801) and touchdowns (5) this year. The Huskies are also strong on the ground with 207 rushing YPG on 4.4 YPC this season. Junior RB Joel Bouagnon (949 rush yds, 4.8 YPC, 15 TD) was unable to extend his 100-yard rushing streak to five last week, but he still gained 87 yards (3.3 YPC) and scored a touchdown for the eighth time in nine contests. The NIU defense has been tough all season with only 24.8 PPG and 376 total YPG allowed, including 20.0 PPG over the past three games. While opposing rushers are gaining just 3.8 YPC (162 YPG), opposing quarterbacks are throwing for only 5.9 YPA (214 YPG). NIU has done a great job in forcing turnovers with at least one takeaway in all nine games in 2015, totaling 18 for the season. However, the Bulls are not a mistake-prone team, evidenced by two giveaways in the past three games combined.

Despite having seven games with less than two turnovers this year, Buffalo has scored 30 points only once in the past six contests. The team is averaging 27.0 PPG and 376 total YPG overall, and these numbers have been much more impressive at home (33.7 PPG, 457 total YPG). Although the Bulls keep the football for an average of 31:58, they aren't a stellar rushing team with only 143 YPG on 3.9 YPC. They have split the handoffs evenly between RBs Jordan Johnson (137 carries, 635 yds, 4.6 YPC, 8 TD) and Anthone Taylor (136 carries, 613 yds, 4.5 YPC, 2 TD), who have nearly identical stats. The 220-pound Johnson is getting more work lately with 70 carries for 330 yards (4.7 YPC) and 5 TD over the past three weeks, while the 210-pound Taylor has gotten just 26 carries for 92 yards (3.5 YPC) and 0 TD in two games since returning from an ankle injury. Senior QB Joe Licata has regressed a bit in his senior season, dropping from 7.7 YPA, 29 TD and 11 INT in 2014 to 6.6 YPA, 12 TD and 8 INT this season. But his performance has improved during the three straight wins where he has a 68% completion rate, 230 passing YPG, 4 TD and 2 INT. Senior WR Ron Willoughby is the team's top receiver with 553 yards, and although he has only 10 catches over the past four games, four of those grabs have resulted in touchdowns. The Buffalo defense is allowing 24.1 PPG on 388 total YPG for the season, and those numbers fall to 19.3 PPG on 344 total YPG over the three-game win streak, thanks to a run-stop unit limiting opponents to 95 YPG on 3.0 YPC during the surge. The Bulls aren't as adept at covering the pass though, giving up 235 YPG on 6.8 YPA this season. And while they have forced 3+ turnovers three times this season, they have no takeaways in three other games, and just one forced turnover in the remaining three contests. But with an NIU team with multiple giveaways in six of the past eight games and a freshman quarterback making his first career start, Buffalo will look for more plays on the football in this matchup.