MACtion culminates on Saturday when the Northern Illinois Huskies and Kent State Golden Flashes square off in the 2021 MAC Championship Game at Ford Field in Detroit. The champion of the West Division, Northern Illinois (8-4) is making its eighth appearance in the championship game in the last 12 seasons. Meanwhile Kent State (7-5), which clinched the East Division on the final day of the regular season, will be making just its second appearance in the title game. 

Kickoff is noon ET. The Golden Flashes are 3.5-point favorites in the latest Kent State vs. Northern Illinois odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the Over-Under for total points scored is 74.5. (See the latest college football lines for all of this week's games on our college football odds page.)

Before you make any Northern Illinois vs. Kent State picks and MAC Championship Game predictions, 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 $3,700 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It also enters Championship Week 2021 on a 42-28 run on all top-rated college football side picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen HUGE returns.

The model knows that Kent State already has beaten Northern Illinois this season. On Nov. 3, the Golden Flashes had a dominant night offensively, piling up 682 total yards, including 360 on the ground, in a 52-47 victory. Kent State averaged 8.0 yards per rush, 16.1 yards per completion and 9.1 yards per play.

The model also knows that Northern Illinois has excelled in close games this season. The Huskies have played in nine one-score games in 2021 and have more wins (seven) by eight points or fewer than any team in the country. They also have won more games (four) decided by fewer than three points than any school in the nation.

Now the model has simulated Kent State vs. Northern Illinois 10,000 times, and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under the total, and it says one side of the spread covers well over 50 percent of the time. You absolutely need to see it before locking in your own picks.

Who wins the MAC Championship Game between Kent State and Northern Illinois? And which side of the spread covers well over 50 percent of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Northern Illinois vs. Kent State spread you need to jump on Saturday, all from the computer model that has crushed its college football picks!