Cure Bowl – Northern Illinois vs. Coastal Carolina Spread, Line, Odds, Predictions, Picks, and Betting Preview
The 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl goes down Friday, December 17, between the Northern Illinois Huskies (9-4) and the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (10-2). It’ll be the second game of Bowl Season after the Bahamas Bowl gets things underway earlier in the day.
The Huskies have been one of the greatest success stories in college football, rebounding from a winless season a year ago to winning their sixth MAC title. It was the first time in college football history that a winless team rebounded to win the conference championship the following season.
The Chanticleers have been one of the best Group of 5 teams in the country for two years now and will be playing in their second straight Cure Bowl.
While both teams enter with a similar record, Coastal is the understandable favorite given the underlying statistics. The Chanticleers feature a high-powered offensive attack that averaged 492.3 yards per game and 7.6 yards per play. The defense has held steady, allowing only 326.5 yards per game and 5.3 yards per play.
A concerning matchup for the Huskies is their woeful rushing defense (215.8 yards per game allowed) matching up with Coastal’s premier ground attack (230.4 yards per game)
Coastal hails from the better conference, has the better record, and has the better underlying statistics. Northern Illinois has been a tough team to count out all season and looked great in a stomping of Kent State in the MAC title game, but they seem to be up against it in the Cure Bowl.
Coastal will be able to move the ball offensively and have proven solid defensively over the past two seasons. They only slipped up twice this season — once against a good App State team and another time without star quarterback Grayson McCall. This is their game to win.
