Hawai'i routs Northern Illinois 56-21
Team pages: Hawai'i · Northern Illinois
Hawai'i routed Northern Illinois 56-21. Share this game
We had Hawai'i favored. It won.
Next: Hawai'i at UTEP, Sat Nov 7
Next: Northern Illinois at UNLV, Sat Oct 31 · 10:30 PM ET · Northern Illinois underdog by 23.5
How it swung
The turning point: Rice 33-yd TD run, Hawai'i goes ahead 21-14 (Q2, 11:17). Hawai'i went from 52% to 77% to win.
Before kickoff, our ratings gave Hawai'i a 55% chance, and the closing betting line (Hawai'i was a 3-point favorite) put it at 60%.
Hawai'i 56-21 Northern Illinois
Hawai'i wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.Northern Illinois 21-56 Hawai'iNorthern Illinois lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.The two plays that swung it
- 1Q1 6:49Dickens 49-yd TD pass to Rogers, ties it 7-7Hawai'i 71% → 50% (−21)
- 2Q2 11:17Rice 33-yd TD run, Hawai'i goes ahead 21-14Hawai'i 52% → 77% (+25)
The two plays that swung it
- 1Q1 6:49Dickens 49-yd TD pass to Rogers, ties it 7-7Northern Illinois 29% → 50% (+21)
- 2Q2 11:17Rice 33-yd TD run, Hawai'i goes ahead 21-14Northern Illinois 48% → 23% (−25)
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (Hawai'i -3), at 51% for Hawai'i (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores.Every drive
Hawai'i scored on 8 of its 13 drives; Northern Illinois on 3 of its 12.
Hawai'i’s drives are teal, Northern Illinois’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
From Northern Illinois’s side
Northern Illinois’s best moment: Dickens 49-yd TD pass to Rogers, ties it 7-7 (Q1 6:49). It lifted Northern Illinois’s win chance by 21 points.
Box score
Hawai'i 56, Northern Illinois 21
Hawai'i covered −3 by 32. The total, 77, went over 48.5.
| Team totals | Hawai'i | Northern Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 504 | 266 |
| Passing | 23 of 34, 329 yds | 17 of 26, 171 yds |
| Rushing | 42 for 175 yds | 24 for 95 yds |
| First downs | 24 | 14 |
| Third down | 9 of 15 | 1 of 7 |
| Fourth down | 1 of 1 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 5 |
| Penalties | 7 for 61 yds | 5 for 55 yds |
| Time of possession | 37:44 | 22:16 |
Hawai'i leaders
- Passing Micah Alejado 22 of 32, 323 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing Devon Rice 12 for 71 yds, 3 TD; Cam Barfield 16 for 58 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving Audric Harris 2 for 90 yds; Cam Barfield 3 for 70 yds
Northern Illinois leaders
- Passing Taron Dickens 17 of 26, 171 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
- Rushing Telly Johnson Jr. 14 for 63 yds; Taron Dickens 5 for 22 yds
- Receiving DeAree Rogers 8 for 115 yds, 2 TD; La'Don Bryant 4 for 30 yds
No rain through the game
68° at kickoff · no rain recorded
The usual here around this date is 53°, with about 7 in 10 games between 40° and 63°.
Game-day temperatures at Huskie Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Jump to
Where this weather comes from
Measured at De Kalb airport, 3.7 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.Before kickoff
Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.
Recent games
Last three games
Hawai'i · 1-6
Rated 59th in our preseason ratings, 137th now.
Three straight losses.
Last three games
Northern Illinois · 0-6
Rated 101st in our preseason ratings, 170th now.
Three straight losses.
Week by week
Northern Illinois
- Wk 2Lvs Illinois State24-28
- Wk 3Lat Arizona17-42
- Wk 4Lat Georgia State14-35
- Wk 6Lvs Air Force7-28
- Wk 7Lat Wyoming23-41
Hawai'i
- Wk 2Wvs New Mexico State29-19
- Wk 4Lat Wyoming10-27
- Wk 5Lvs San José State16-20
- Wk 6Lat Arizona State12-30
- Wk 7Lvs New Mexico10-21
Power rating by week
Hawai'i is rated 1.9 points ahead as of week 7. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Matchups
Biggest mismatch: Hawai'i’s passing EPA against Northern Illinois, 68 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
Hawai'i’s passing EPA against Northern Illinois’s defense
Hawai'i offense, 30th percentile · Northern Illinois defense, 98th
Hawai'i’s explosive plays against Northern Illinois’s defense
Hawai'i offense, 15th percentile · Northern Illinois defense, 55th
Hawai'i’s success rate against Northern Illinois’s defense
Hawai'i offense, 37th percentile · Northern Illinois defense, 1st
Season profile, all the rows
Season profile
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
Northern Illinois fans are in a better mood than Hawai'i fans (79th percentile vs 21st among FBS fanbases), even with Hawai'i favored.
Hawai'i favored by 3 · Total 48.5
How games like this usually go
Hawai'i by 3, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 286 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.
The market
The spread moved 4.5 points toward Northern Illinois.
The total rose 3 points.
Spread: +7.5 → +3 · Total: 45.5 → 48.5
The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds
Home field
Northern Illinois is worth +1.3 points (±3.6) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom tenth of FBS, 9th percentile.
38% at home, 37% on the road against FBS opponents (15-24 home, 19-32 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -6.6 at home vs. away over 97 games — outside the ±5.7 noise, one of the few buildings where results say more.
The visitors travel about 4,188 miles to get here.
Where next
Conference standings
Going into this game: place in the conference, then conference record.
- Northern Illinois8th0-2
- Hawai'i10th0-4