The Maryland Terrapins will host the Northern Illinois Huskies in college football action on Friday night. The Terrapins are fresh off a convincing 39-7 win in Week 1 and enter as heavy betting favorites over their opponents from the MAC. Northern Illinois will need to be much better than they were last week if they are going to pull off this upset. Before this matchup, continue reading to get my analysis for this game and my Northern Illinois vs Maryland prediction.
Our Northern Illinois vs Maryland Pick
- Pick: Maryland Terrapins -17.5
- Confidence: 3/5
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Game Snapshot
- Matchup: Northern Illinois Huskies vs Maryland Terrapins
- Date & Time: Friday, September 5, 2025, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: SECU Stadium, College Park, MD
- Broadcast: BTN
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Odds
| Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland –17.5 | Maryland –900 / NIU +550 | 46.5 |
Key Storylines
- Freshman QB vs. Aggressive Defense: Maryland will go with true freshman quarterback Malik Washington at quarterback after a strong start in Week 1. Northern Illinois’ defense will try to limit chunk plays after Washington had a few of those against FAU.
- Offensive Transition in DeKalb: NIU’s new offensive coordinator Quinn Sanders brings a spread-style system. But the Huskies struggled to score against FCS Holy Cross. They needed a special teams touchdown to win that game and are fortunate to be 1-0 going into this game.
- Another Upset?: This game is almost exactly one year from the day that Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame last year. That same Notre Dame team went to the national championship game. Maryland could pay if it takes NIU lightly here.
Quarterback Play
Maryland – Malik Washington: The true freshman completed 27 of 43 passes for 258 yards, 3 touchdowns, and zero interceptions last week. He was efficient and poised by any standard and not just by freshman standards.
Northern Illinois – Josh Holst: Holst completed 12 of 18 passes for just 101 yards with one interception against Holy Cross. The passing game remains a work in progress for the Huskies. They need to make some quick progress to compete with the Terrapins.
Betting Trends & H2H
- Maryland is 1-0 ATS this season. NIU is 0-1 ATS.
- Both teams saw their Week 1 games stay under their totals.
- H2H History: Maryland leads the all-time series against NIU 2-1. Their last meeting came in 2004 and was a 23-20 Maryland win.
Northern Illinois vs Maryland Model Projection
Score Projection: Maryland 35 – Northern Illinois 14
Win Probability: Maryland 90%, Northern Illinois 10%
Final Thoughts
Maryland should have no problem winning with some margin against Northern Illinois last week. Unless NIU was hiding a ton of its best playcalling by not using it against Holy Cross, I am alarmed by the offense of the Huskies based on what we saw last week. I expect another strong game from Maryland’s freshman signal caller and for the Terps to cover the spread here.
