North Dakota State Bison vs Southern Illinois Salukis prediction and FCS spring football game preview.
North Dakota State vs Southern Illinois Broadcast
Date: Saturday, February 27
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Saluki Stadium, Carbondale, IL
Network: ESPN+
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North Dakota State (1-0) vs Southern Illinois (0-1) Game Preview
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Why North Dakota State Will Win
Turnovers. If Southern Illinois gives them up like it did against North Dakota in the 44-21 loss, there’s going to be a big problem.
The Salukis gave it up five times to offset a good passing day and undoing a good first half. Meanwhile, North Dakota State shook the rust off in a workmanlike win over Youngstown State, holding the Penguins to just 171 yards of total offense – and that’s without any takeaways.
The Bison don’t need any help. If SIU starts to mess up like it did against the Fighting Hawks, this will get out of hand fast. Even without any takeaways, be stunned if SIU comes anywhere close to 100 rushing yards on this group. But …
Why Southern Illinois Will Win
It’s not like the NDSU offense went off.
It was fine in the 25-7 win, and there was never any real drama, but QB Zeb Noland only hit 9-of-18 passes and there weren’t any big shots down the field.
On the other side, SIU’s combination of Nic Baker and Kare Lyles combined to throw for 227 yards and a score against North Dakota, and lost in all of the turnovers was that the offense moved, doing a great job on third downs, and …
What’s Going To Happen
Again, turnovers.
No, SIU isn’t going to give up five against the Bison, but it’s not likely going to win the turnover battle by a big enough margin to pull off the upset.
Yes, Zeb Noland wasn’t amazing, but the NDSU running game was solid, the offensive line was terrific, and the defense was a rock. Don’t expect this to be an earth-shattering Bison performance, but it’ll be a strong road win.
North Dakota State vs Southern Illinois Prediction, Line
North Dakota State 30, Southern Illinois 13
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Line: COMING, o/u: COMING
Must See Rating: 3.5
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