Two of the best programs in the state of Illinois (not saying much) meet on Saturday in Evanston. Northern Illinois opened the post-Jordan Lynch era off with an easy with against FCS Presbyterian. Northwestern was upset at home by California.

With the line at Northwestern -7.5 this appears to be an overreaction to what happened last week. The Wildcats were a double-digit favorite against California. There is no way that Northern Illinois is a better team than California this season. Pat Fitzgerald will make sure his team has a maximum effort this week. The Wildcats should be a 10-point favorite or more in this game.

Pick: Northwestern (-7.5) over Northern Illinois