Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images CCU's QB Grayson McCall was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year for the second-straight season.
The Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies (9-4) take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (10-2) in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl on the opening day of Bowl Season this Friday.
The game (6 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on ESPN2. But if you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch a live stream of Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina online:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN2 and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Fubo credentials to log in and watch.
Sling TV
ESPN2 is included in Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with ESPN2, and you can get your first month for just $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Sling credentials to log in and watch.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN2 is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your DirecTV Stream credentials (may still be listed as AT&T on the list of cable providers) to log in and watch.
Vidgo
You can watch a live stream of ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels on Vidgo, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Vidgo, you can watch Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina live on the Vidgo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Vidgo website.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of ESPN2 and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Northern Illinois vs Coastal Carolina live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
You can also watch live via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. You’ll need to sign in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can use your Hulu credentials to log in and watch.
NIU vs Costal Carolina 2021 Preview
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (10-2, 6-2 Sun Belt) are back in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl for the second-straight year where they will take on the Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois Huskies (9-4, 6-2 MAC) on Friday night at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The Chanticleers made their first-ever Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) postseason bowl game in 2020, where they lost in the Cure Bowl to nationally ranked Liberty, 37-34 in overtime.
Coastal Carolina won ten games for the second-consecutive season and is one of only four FBS teams in the country to be ranked in the top-25 in both total offense (493.1 yards gained per game – No. 7) and total defense (324.8 yards allowed per game – 17th), joining the likes of Alabama, Michigan, and Mississippi State.
CCU’s offense features the Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Year, redshirt sophomore quarterback Grayson McCall and the nation’s sixth-best rushing game (231.3 yards per game).
McCall is on the verge of making history, as he stands to break the NCAA single-season record in passing efficiency, which was set last year by Alabama’s Mac Jones. The redshirt sophomore leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 207.9 mark and is also the best in the FBS with 12.12 yards per pass attempt and 16.61 yards per completion.
The Chanticleers had to overcome a ten-point halftime deficit the last time out, when they charged back to beat South Alabama in overtime, 27-21, on Nov. 26.
CCU put up 491 yards of offense in the win, including a season-best 315 rushing yards. Senior running back Shermari Jones ran for a career-high 211 yards and a touchdown. Senior wideout Jaivon Heiligh tallied six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown and became CCU’s all-time leader in career receptions (84) and receiving yards (2,731).
Northern Illinois authored one of the sport’s greatest turnarounds, becoming the first team in FBS history to go from a winless season (0-6 in 2020) to a conference championship the next year.
The Huskies won their sixth MAC title when they took down Kent State in the conference championship game, 41-23, on Dec. 4.
Freshman running back Jay Ducker rushed for 146 yards on 29 carries in the win to get within just six yards of breaking the program’s 44-year-old freshman rushing record. Ducker, who was named MAC Freshman of the Year, has rushed for 1,038 yards and three scores this season.
NIU’s offense averages 31.5 points per game and a total of 422.0 yards per game. The Huskies possess the fifth-best rushing attack in the country, with 234.2 yards gained on the ground per game.
NIU’s third-year head coach Thomas Hammock was named the MAC Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year for his orchestration of the program’s monumental turnaround.
“Not only did they do everything I asked, but they believed,” said Hammock. “Belief is the hardest thing you can get a team to buy into. A couple times I asked [QB] Rocky [Lombardi] in the offseason ‘do you think they believe?’ He said, ‘I don’t know but we’ll get ’em there.’ All we did was work together as a football team, as a staff, we became a team and I couldn’t be more proud of everybody involved.”
The Huskies will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak in bowl games. Their last bowl win was in the 2012 GoDaddy Bowl when they defeated Arkansas State, 38-20.