Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech College Football Bowl Pick: Though its no fault of the involved schools, Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois , the Independence Bowl did not get what it wanted in 2008. Contracted to the SEC and Big 12 conferences to provide the Shreveport, Louisana, bowl a matchup, the leagues fell short of qualified teams due to each league providing an extra team to the BCS championship game. Therefore, the Big 12 and SEC didn't have enough teams to fill the extra slot. So for the Independence Bowl, it was onto Plan B. And for Louisiana Tech (7-5) of the WAC and MAC member Northern Illinois(6-6), landing in Shreveport is a good thing.
This will be the seventh meeting on the gridiron between Louisiana Tech and Northern Illinois as the Bulldogs lead the series 5-1. Tech is 3-0 against Northern Illinois in Ruston and 2-1 against the Huskies in DeKalb. However, this game will take place on a neutral field in Shreveport just an hour away from Louisiana Tech's campus.
Online sports odds professionals at super sportsbook BetUS.com have installed the Bulldogs as 2-chalk and -130 moneyline favorites with a 46 total. Huskies backers are getting +110 moneyline juice as the underdog.
Northern Illinois is led offensively by their redshirt freshman quarterback Chandler Harnish. Harnish finished the regular season completing 98 of 171 passes for 1,342 yards, seven touchdowns as well as seven interceptions. However, the aspect of Harnish's game that makes him so dangerous is his ability to run the football as he has gained 478 yards rushing four touchdowns on 106 carries.
Northern Illinois’ running game averages 172.8 rushing yards per game. The Bulldogs look up to the task as they are surrendering under 100 yards per game rushing and have yet to have an opposing player rush for 100 yards in a game against them.
The Bulldogs will be looking to put together a strong ground game as well. The Louisiana Tech offense is averaging 195 yards rushing per game and are led by junior running back Daniel Porter who has rushed for 1,086 yards and eight touchdowns this season on 204 carries.
The Bulldog offensive line will have their hands full in the contest as they look to contain MAC Defensive Player of the Year Larry English for Northern Illinois. English finished the regular season with 36 total tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and eight sacks.
Sports-Odds.com predicts a Louisiana Tech victory and betting line cover in this game.
