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The difference in opinion on Northern Illinois comes down to three points. The Huskies opened the season with a 54-15 drubbing of W Illinois. Then NIU had likely the biggest upset of the season, getting paid over 1 million US currency dollars to win AT Notre Dame. They followed that up with a baffling three point loss at home to Buffalo. One could say that they got their first top 25 ranking in forever, and maybe the lights got too bright too fast, while they played in one of their biggest home crowds in years. Maybe so, they did everything in their power to hand the game to Buffalo, and the Bulls finally agreed to take it in overtime.
Perhaps this is coming back down to earth for NIU, or maybe the team that played to win at Notre Dame is their true gritty self. We will know for sure when they travel to Raleigh for another contentious power conference opponent. Actually, Notre Dame doesn’t get to count as a power conference opponent, they’re just a team everyone says is good. Want to be a P4 team? Join a conference, bubs.
So where does that leave NC State vs NIU? Who the hell knows, at this point. Mostly, the crew is expecting another “hold onto your butts” type of game, which is just great. Those three points to Buffalo are the difference keeping this game away from an opportunity to play another ranked opponent, which would have been the third in first five games. Don’t be surprised to hear grumblings in the stands, and maybe the boo birds coming out if things don’t go right from the jump. This is NC State’s last chance to get the ship pointed in the right direction prior to the heart of the ACC schedule.
As we do every week, our crew put their best guesses to paper to say how they think the game will turn out:
Name | Prediction | Comments |
ESPN Predicto-Bot | 58.7% - 41.3% (W) | This was 89.6%-10.4% in the preseason, oh how things have changed... |
Alec Lower | 31-34 (L) | I think State's ground game is going to start coming to life, but man this run defense has been atrocious, and the ground and pound is coming from NIU. |
Essad Malik | 31-24 (W) | Likely yet another nail biter, which is becoming a theme for games against non-ranked opponents this season. I think the Pack do just enough late in the game to pull away as they did against La Tech, but nobody is particularly happy about it. |
Trey Lower | 27-23 (W) | I have gone back and forth on this one. This team hasn't proven they can blow anyone out so I don't see that happening, but this is purely a must win game, and I think the team has just enough to get it done. If they don't, prepare for turbulence |
Joel Seagle | 27-38 (L) | Will the Pack be ready to play, or will they still be reeling from the Clemson debacle? Unfortunately, I think it's going to be another disappointing day. |
Jackson Williford | 28-21 (W) | Dave and co are phenomenal in backs against the wall type situations. Offense will build on what we saw last week, and the personnel shuffling on defense pays off. |
So, what do you think will happen this week? Let us know in the comments below, and respond in the poll with your pick!
Who do you think will win?
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(AI prompt: a wolf and a husky stare at each other growling while drooling with a stadium in the background, anime style")
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The fanbase is already on life support, the roof will cave in (or get burned down) if we lose this one. Unfortunately, NIU appears to be a quality opponent, much better than either Western or La Tech, so we're going to have our hands full.
I think we're seeing a combination of a) forgetting that Wolfpack football always takes the month of September to get their game together; and b) we bought into the hype around the transfers we brought in at the skill positions.
Based on history, I believe we will get better and the fans will regain our optimism. The two biggest challenges are behind us - not that any remaining game will be easy, but unlike UT…