NCAAF Cure Bowl Betting Analysis: Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina Preview & Pick

Two Group of Five teams that have made a lot of noise over the last few years will square off in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, as the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will take on the Northern Illinois Huskies. Each of these teams have played in New Year’s Day Bowls in recent years. It’s time to take a look at our NCAAF Betting analysis for the upcoming match between Northern Illinois and Middle Tennessee so you can against their Cure Bowl odds. 

Cure Bowl Betting Preview for Northern Illinois Huskies Vs Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina 

After a few down seasons, Northern Illinois is back. The Huskies finished 9-4 and won the MAC Championship. This will be their 14th career bowl game and their first since 2018. Unfortunately for the Huskies, they’ve lost their last six bowl games, with their most recent win coming at the GoDaddy.com Bowl in 2012.

As for Coastal Carolina, they have two great seasons in a row. They’ve been ranked for multiple weeks in the top 25 polls, even climbing as high as #9 in 2020. This will be the Chanticleers’ second-ever bowl appearance. As a matter of fact, this will be their second-straight appearance in the Cure Bowl. They lost last year’s game to Liberty 37-34.

The Chanticleers can score points in bunches. They’re averaging over 40 points per game, and are one of the top-scoring teams in college football. Surprisingly enough, they have a very balanced offense, as they’re averaging around 260 passing yards per game and 230 rushing yards per contest. They have three running backs with over 500 yards rushing each, and their rushing offense is ranked sixth in the NCAA.

Speaking of rushing offense, Northern Illinois can top Coastal Carolina. Their rushing offense is ranked fifth in the country, averaging over 235 yards on the ground per game. When Northern Illinois had their great run a few years back, it was because they had a dominant ground game. They are great at controlling the clock, and their goal is to keep the other team’s offense off of the field for extended periods of time.

Defensively, Coastal Carolina is very good. Their opponents are averaging just over 325 yards per game while scoring just 20 points per game. They hold the opposition to just over 130 rushing yards per game and 190 passing yards per contest. We’ll see how well they can stop the powerful ground and pound attack of Northern Illinois.

There’s a good reason why Northern Illinois has to control the clock with their ground game. It’s because their defense isn’t very strong. The Huskies are giving up an average of nearly 33 points per game while giving up a whopping 450 yards of offense a game. Their rushing defense is particularly poor, as they’ve given up an average of 215 rushing yards per game. Coastal Carolina will look to exploit NIU’s porous defense and put up some huge offensive numbers.

Betting Pick

Coastal Carolina comes into the Cure Bowl as 10-point favorites. They have a very potent offense, along with a defense that is hard to score on. While Northern Illinois can hurt you with their clock-control offense, they have a defense that can’t seem to stop their opponents from scoring. We like the Chanticleers in this one, but only by a touchdown. 

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