The 2023 Camellia Bowl will take place December 23^rd when the Arkansas State Red Wolves face the Northern Illinois Huskies in Montgomery, Alabama at the Cramton Bowl with the game kicking off at 12:00 PM ET on Saturday afternoon and will air on ESPN.

 

The Arkansas State Red Wolves finished the regular season with a record of 6-6 which led to a 2^nd place finish in the West Division of the Sun Belt Conference and lost two of their final three games including a 21-35 loss on the road in the season finale against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Despite averaging 36.6 points per game during their final five games this season, the Red Wolves were a below-average scoring team this season as they averaged 27.75 points per game.

 

The Red Wolves had one of the worst scoring defenses in college football as they are allowing an average of 31.17 points per game. The Arkansas Red Wolves will look to end the season with a winning record for the first time since the 2019 college football season when they face the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Camellia Bowl.

 

The Northern Illinois Huskies finished in 2^nd place in the West Division of the MAC Conference with a record of 6-6 and finished the regular season on a two-game winning streak following a 37-27 win on the road against the Kent State Golden Flashes in their season finale.

 

The success the Huskies had this season can be attributed to their defense as they enter this game allowing an average of 21.17 points per game which was below the national average of 25.76 points per game. Northern Illinois also had an above-average rushing offense as they averaged 178.83 rushing yards per game.

 

Antario Brown played a pivotal role in the success the rushing offense had this season as he led the team in rushing with 1,162 yards and ten touchdowns. The Northern Illinois Huskies will look to end the season on a three-game winning streak while also finishing with a winning record after finishing the 2022 college football season with only three wins when they face the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

 

BookMaker has the Arkansas State Red Wolves listed as 1-point favorites against the Northern Illinois Huskies in the Camellia Bowl on Saturday afternoon. Northern Illinois has won two of the three games all-time with the most recent matchup having occurred in 2012 which resulted in a 38-20 win for the Northern Illinois Huskies while the teams are 1-1-1 ATS all-time in the series. The Arkansas State Red Wolves are 7-5 ATS overall and 1-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Northern Illinois Huskies are 5-7 ATS overall and 3-1 ATS as an underdog on the year.

 

The teams enter this matchup with identical records of 6-6, however, Northern Illinois has been the better team in the series, winning two of the three games all-time. The Huskies are 3-1 ATS as an underdog this season while the Red Wolves are 1-1 ATS as a favorite.

 

Should see a lot of scoring in this game as both offenses have been clicking recently and taking the points seems like the thing to do.