Charlie Weis’ Jayhawk reclamation project continues this weekend with a road outing against the Northern Illinois Huskies. Start time in the Big 12 versus MAC showdown is scheduled for 3:30pm ET on Saturday; the game can be seen live on ESPN3. College Football Kansas vs Northern Illinois Odds like the Huskies in this contest; Dave Doeren’s squad, which is listed as a -9 against the spread favorite, is a -330 moneyline play (76.7 percent win probability). Kansas is drawing +270 odds in an underdog role while the game total sits at 52.5 points.

Charlie Weis knew he had his work cut out for him when he took over a Kansas program that Turner Gill drove straight into the ditch, and, sadly for Weis, the past two weeks have been an indicator that he still has a long ways to go.

The Jayhawks, who opened the season with a 31-17 win over South Dakota State, blew a double digit lead at home in week two to lose 24-25 to Rice. Kansas rebounded from that gut wrenching setback with a solid performance, albeit in defeat (yes, a loss is a rebound in the case of the Jayhawks), against Big 12 newcomer TCU.

Kansas stayed with a sloppy Horned Frogs squad (four turnovers) a good portion of the game and it finished with 380 total yards against TCU’s usually stout defense.

UNI, which lost 42-45 to Kansas in Lawrence last season, enters today’s game off back to back straight up wins. The Huskies followed up their season opening loss at Iowa (18-17) with a 35-7 home win over Tennessee-Martin and they just slipped past Army 41-40 in West Point last weekend.

Northern Illinois’ offense rolled up 515 yards last Saturday, despite three turnovers and a mere 17:27 time of possession against the Black Knights. The Huskies posted similar numbers in last year’s loss to the Jayhawks as they totaled 462 yards in 23:11.

Free Pick: Take Northern Illinois -9. The Jayhawks are 0-8 straight up and 2-6 against the spread over the last three seasons when playing as a road team off back to back straight up losses. Conversely, UNI is 6-0 straight up and 5-1 against the spread when playing as a home favorite with a spread between 8 and 10.5 points (dates back to 1999).

Kansas vs Northern Illinois Preview:

Kansas Jayhawks +9 (-110), Over 52.5 (-110), +270 (Moneyline)

Northern Illinois Huskies -9 (-110), Under 52.5 (-110), -330 (Moneyline)

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