Northern Illinois had been a consistent bowl participant across most of the past decade, when Jerry Kill, Dave Doeren, and Rod Carey were in charge of the program. Each of those Huskies mentors, however, left for greener pastures, and there is little evidence successor Thomas Hammock, now in his second year on the job, can continue in the manner of his predecessors — particularly after NIU missed a bowl in Hammock’s first spin as coach last season.

On the other hand, Buffalo has been able to emerge as a bowl regular for coach Lance Leipold, who has elevated the Bulls since arriving from a wildly successful run at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Projections for this season from MAC pundits reflect the different directions of these programs, and that disparity is a main reason Buffalo rates a 13.5-point choice at BetMGM for their Wednesday night MAC opener in DeKalb, Ill.

Hammock’s offseason roster purge and addition of more than 30 newcomers and transfers have not enhanced the immediate prospects at Northen Illinois. Most MAC insiders do not expect those moves to prove an immediate upgrade, at least not until Hammock rediscovers the traditional Huskies infantry component, which deserted NIU in 2019.

Leipold, meanwhile, chooses from among a pair of experienced QBs (Kyle Vantrease and Matt Myers) and returns a pair of 1,000-yard rushers from last season, Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks.

Overdue for a first win over NIU since 1968, especially after a painful upset loss in the 2018 MAC title game, Buffalo can settle many debts on Wednesday and improve upon Leipold’s stellar 26-12-3 spread mark across the past three seasons.

The play: Buffalo, -13.5.