2021 I Bowl Preview: Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina

The Northern Illinois Huskies won the Mid-American Conference championship. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers failed to defend their Sun Belt Conference championship. NIU overachieved this season. Coastal produced a very solid campaign but didn’t get everything it wanted. These two teams now meet on Friday in a very interesting Cure Bowl, the second game in a very long lineup of bowls over the next few weeks.

Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Date: Friday, December 17th, 6:00 PM ET

Location: Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL

CFB Odds: Coastal Carolina -10

Northern Illinois Huskies

The Huskies were the cardiac team in the MAC this year. Northern Illinois finished 9-4, and nine of those 13 games ended with a one-score margin (eight points or fewer). Northern Illinois spent the year scrambling. The Huskies came from behind against Toledo and Central Michigan. They played a wild and volatile back-and-forth game against Ball State which they won 30-29. They went to overtime against Buffalo and prevailed when Buffalo fumbled just outside the goal line. This team found a way to play its best football and make big plays in fourth quarters of games. Nothing about this season felt safe or secure, but NIU was able to continuously enter high-stress situations and thrive within them. This team danced on the ledge and managed to avoid falling off it. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi didn’t always play well, but he stepped up in crunch-time moments to give the Huskies what they needed.

NIU played high-scoring games on a regular basis this season. The Huskies scored at least 30 points in six of their last seven games. They gave up at least 29 points in six games, nearly half of their 2021 schedule. NIU didn’t control the tempo or style of its games, but it regularly stayed in the hunt and gave itself a chance to win games late, which is what it usually did.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

The Chanticleers went 10-2 this season, another superb year for head coach Jamey Chadwell. The Chanticleers didn’t win the Sun Belt championship because Appalachian State beat them head-to-head and earned a date in the conference title game against Louisiana. Yet, there wasn’t a whole lot this team left on the table. Coastal Carolina won seven games by 14 points or more. Its two losses came by a combined five points – three to Appalachian State, two to Georgia State. Quarterback Grayson McCall proved to be a dynamic leader for this offense once again, enabling Coastal to score at least 40 points in six different games this season. For a team which didn’t win its conference, the Chanticleers still looked very impressive and performed like a team which belongs among the top tier in the Group of Five classification (the five conferences below the Power Fives).

Outlook

Northern Illinois won a ton of close games. Coastal Carolina spent much of the year hammering the opposition. The Chanticleers’ profile is clearly more impressive than what the Huskies bring to the table. That should be reflected in this bowl game.

Huskies vs. Chanticleers Prediction:

Chanticleers 38, Huskies 24