Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Betting Preview | Northern Illinois vs Fresno State Prediction

Northern Illinois vs Fresno State Betting Preview

Fresno State lost three of their last four games with Northern Illinois winning three of their last four games as these two clash in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Who will come out on top on the blue turf in Boise, ID?

GoldSheet – The country’s longest-running sports betting newsletter – shares its thoughts on the matchup between the Huskies and Bulldogs.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Details: Northern Illinois vs Fresno State

Date:	December 23, 2024
Time:	2:30 PM ET / 11:30 AM PT
Location:	Albertsons Stadium in Boise, ID
TV:	ESPN
Spread & Total:	Northern Illinois -3 | O/U 39.5

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl odds above courtesy of DraftKings as of 10:00am ET on Thursday, December 19

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Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Betting Trends

Neither team is entering bowl season on a high note. Northern Illinois went 3-3 straight-up, 1-5 against the spread to finish the regular season.

Fresno State lost three of its final four games. It’s been a little while, but these teams have played in this bowl game before. Northern Illinois earned a 40-17 win on the blue turf in Boise in 2010.

Underdogs have pulled an outright upset in six of the last ten editions of the Potato Bowl, including each of the last two.

The Huskies were on a seven-game losing streak in bowl games prior to last year’s 21-19 win over Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl. Fresno State has won each of its last five bowl games, going 4-1 against the spread.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Analysis

We’ll keep this one relatively short-and-sweet: When you’ve got two teams that are both missing a lot of pieces, just take the points, right?

As of Monday (12/16) evening, Fresno State has seven starters in the transfer portal, plus two more that have opted out in favor of preparing for the NFL Draft.

Starting QB Mikey Keene and a trio of wide receivers are expected to miss this contest. The Bulldogs are likely going to have a skeleton crew on the field in Boise for interim head coach Tim Skipper.

Northern Illinois is largely in the same boat, so we’re not quite sure why the Huskies are laying a field goal in this matchup. Starting QB Ethan Hampton is on his way to Wake Forest.

The Huskies have five starters in the transfer portal, and could possibly be missing six players on the defensive line.

Stud running back Antario Brown missed the final three games. So we’ve got two teams that are both likely going to be missing players all over the field.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Prediction

Let’s just take a very simply, big-picture view of the talent on both teams. 247Sports uses a composite talent score, which captures recruiting rankings and transfer ratings.

Fresno State entered this season No. 89 in the country. Northern Illinois is No. 124. The Bulldogs simply have a deeper roster and play in a better conference. We’ll take the three points as a cherry on top.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Prediction: Fresno State +3

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