San Diego State will visit Northern Illinois on Saturday in a non-conference matchup at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb. The Aztecs enter off a 34-0 victory over Cal and will look to build on that win over an ACC opponent. Northern Illinois is trying to regroup after a two straight losses to power conference teams. Before kickoff from Illinois, you can continue reading to get my San Diego State vs Northern Illinois prediction.
Our San Diego State vs Northern Illinois Pick
- Pick: Northern Illinois ML
- Confidence: 3/5
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: San Diego State Aztecs vs Northern Illinois Huskies
- Date & Time: Saturday, September 27, 2025, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium, DeKalb, IL
- Broadcast: ESPN+
San Diego State vs Northern Illinois Odds
| Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|
| SDSU -1.5 | SDSU -125 / NIU +105 | 43.5 |
Key Storylines
- San Diego State defense: SDSU enters with a dominant defensive form. They blanked a Power Four opponent in their most recent outing and generated big plays on turnovers and created short-field situations.
- Northern Illinois offensive consistency: NIU has struggled to put points on the board, averaging in the low teens per game. But they also played Maryland and Mississippi State in two of their three games. They will try to perform better now that they aren’t playing a power conference opponent.
- Home-field factor and travel: SDSU travels across two time zones to play this game. NIU will play at home for the first time since their season opener and they will try to take advantage of being at home in this game.
Quarterback Play
- San Diego State: Jayden Denegal has been efficient this season, throwing three touchdown passes with no interceptions.
- Northern Illinois: Josh Holst has struggled with 327 passing yards on the year. He has one touchdown pass and two interceptions.
Betting Trends & H2H
- San diego State is 2-1 against the spread to start the season.
- Northern Illinois is 1-2 against the spread to begin the year.
- San Diego State has seen two of its first three games go under their totals.
- All three of Northern Illinois’ games have gone under their totals to start the year.
San Diego State vs Northern Illinois Model Projection
Score Projection: San Diego State 20 – Northern Illinois 21
Win Probability: San Diego State 50%, Northern Illinois 50%
Final Thoughts
I think we are in for a close, low-scoring game between these non-conference opponents on Saturday afternoon. Northern Illinois has not looked good at all to start the year. But I attribute that more to playing tough competition on the road than anything else. I’ll take Northern Illinois to get a win at home here as they should improve to 2-0 at home on the season and 2-2 overall on the young college football season.
