The Northern Illinois Huskies (6-3, 4-1 Mid-American) will try to hang on to the top spot in the West Division when they host the Ball State Cardinals (5-4, 3-2) in MACtion on Wednesday night. Kickoff from Huskie Stadium in DeKalb is set for 7 p.m. ET. 

The Cardinals are the 2.5-point favorite in the latest Ball State vs. Northern Illinois odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 60.5. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before you consider your Ball State vs. Northern Illinois picks or college football predictions, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of almost $3,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Week 11 of the 2021 season on a 31-20 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The Cardinals have won four of their past five, and quarterback Drew Plitt and running back Carson Steele lead their balanced offense. Plitt has thrown for 1,776 yards, with 14 TD passes and four interceptions, while Steele has 582 yards and five TDs. Receiver Justin Hall, with 56 catches for 579 yards, helps them move the chains. Ball State should find success against an NIU defense that gives up almost 34 points per game.     

Northern Illinois comes off a 52-47 loss to East leader Kent State, but the Huskies offense piled up 663 yards in the game. Rocky Lombardi threw for 532 yards and receiver Trayvon Rudolph had 309. Rudolph averages 20 yards per catch, and his three TDs gave him seven for the season. The Huskies average 221 rushing yards per game (15th in FBS), led by Jay Ducker (579), Harrison Waylee (574) and Lombardi (345).

Now the model has simulated Ball State vs. Northern Illinois 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread is hitting in well over 60 percent of simulations. You absolutely need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins the Ball State vs. Northern Illinois matchup in Wednesday night's MACtion? And which side of the spread is hitting well over 60 percent of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Ball State vs. Northern Illinois spread you need to jump on Wednesday, all from the computer model on a 31-20 run on its top-rated college football side picks!