McCall, Coastal Carolina beat N. Illinois 47-41 in Cure Bowl
AP
Dec 17, 2021
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Grayson McCall threw four touchdown passes and Coastal Carolina held off Northern Illinois 47-41 in the Cure Bowl on Friday night, with the game ending with the Huskies at the Chanticleers 4.
McCall was 22 for 30 for 315 yards, and Braydon Bennett ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on six carries to help Coastal Carolina (11-1) win 11 games for the second consecutive year. Bennett also caught four passes for 47 yards and a TD.
''He just operates, he's a smooth operator,'' Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said about McCall. ''As a coach, if he misses a play, you're like, `What in the world is wrong with him' because he makes so many good one's.''
Chadwell said while there is speculation about McCall's future, ''we're confident that he loves Coastal and he's going to be here with us and finish out his career.''
It was also Coastal Carolina's first bowl victory. The Chanticleers lost in their first bowl appearance last year, 37-34 in overtime to Liberty.
''Pretty cool,'' McCall said. ''Definitely a team effort. I don't think I played by best game but but all my teammates propelled me forward.''
Jay Ducker ran for 146 yards on 24 carries, and Antario Brown added 105 yards and 12 attempts for Northern Illinois (9-5). Rocky Lombardi completed 20 of 33 passes for 181 yards and two scores.
''Couldn't be more proud of their fight,'' NIU coach Thomas Hammock said. ''This could be a launching pad for us into the 2022 season.''
NIU's roster has just seven seniors, and includes 71 players who graduated from high school in 2020 or 2021. The Huskies are the first team in FBS history to win its conference championship game one season after going winless (0-6).
Lombardi also had picked up 66 yards including a touchdown on eight carries.
Northern Illinois (516) and Coastal Carolina (514) combined for 1,030 yards. Northern Illinois picked up 335 yards on the ground.
After Northern Illinois wide receiver Trayvon Rudolph was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 run at the Huskies 34, McCall threw a shovel pass from the option to Bennett for a TD on the next play. He then connected with Isaiah Likely on a two-point conversion to make it 47-41 with 6:40 left.
NIU converted 4 of 5 fourth-down plays in the game and ended the season successful of 26 of 31 attempts.
Northern Illinois got the ball back at its own 13 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Lombardi hit Miles Joiner for a 4-yard gain on fourth down to the Coastal Carolina 4 with 2 seconds remaining, but the Huskies couldn't off another play.
Likely's second touchdown reception got Coastal Carolina within two at 41-39 with nine minutes left, but McCall's threw an incomplete pass on the two-point try.
Northern Illinois led 24-19 at the half as both teams scored on their first four possessions. NIU's fifth and final possession started with a second left following a kickoff.
McCall passed for 164 yards and a TD during the opening half, while Lombardi threw for just 23 yards but had scoring strikes of 5- and 12-yards.
GAME BALL
A special pink football was brought into the stadium by U.S. military paratroopers during a pregame ceremony. The NCAA approved the use of a football with pink laces for the opening kickoff. It was the first approval of its kind by the NCAA.
TRAINERS ROOM
Northern Illinois: Hammock said around 20-to-25 of his players were impacted by flulike symptoms over the last few days.
Coastal Carolina: Defensive lineman C.J. Brewer left with a groin injury.
---
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
Copyright 2025 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
(5:48 - 2nd) CC kicks 62 yards from CC 35 to the NIL 3. T.Rudolph returns the kickoff. Tackled by C.Beasley at NIL 33.
+1 YD
1 & 10 - NILL 33
(5:41 - 2nd) J.Ducker rushed to NIL 34 for 1 yards. Tackled by A.Spillum; T.Gallagher at NIL 34.
No Gain
2 & 9 - NILL 34
(5:10 - 2nd) R.Lombardi steps back to pass. R.Lombardi pass incomplete intended for M.Toure.
-1 YD
3 & 9 - NILL 34
(5:00 - 2nd) C.Ratkovich rushed to NIL 33 for -1 yards. Tackled by M.Olufemi at NIL 33.
Punt
4 & 10 - NILL 33
(4:23 - 2nd) M.Ference punts yards to CC 20 Center-E.Abrell. Fair catch by CC. PENALTY on CC-A.Bedgood Roughing the Kicker 14 yards accepted. No Play.
+4 YD
1 & 10 - NILL 47
(4:17 - 2nd) J.Ducker rushed to CC 49 for 4 yards. Tackled by T.Gallagher; C.Brewer at CC 49. PENALTY on CC-M.Olufemi Unsportsmanlike Conduct / Defense 15 yards accepted.
+9 YD
1 & 10 - CSTCAR 34
(3:32 - 2nd) T.Rudolph rushed to CC 25 for 9 yards. Tackled by S.Watkins at CC 25.
+2 YD
2 & 1 - CSTCAR 25
(3:12 - 2nd) A.Brown rushed to CC 23 for 2 yards. Tackled by M.Olufemi; J.Clark at CC 23.
+4 YD
1 & 10 - CSTCAR 23
(3:01 - 2nd) A.Brown rushed to CC 19 for 4 yards. Tackled by S.Watkins; C.Brewer at CC 19.
+6 YD
2 & 6 - CSTCAR 19
(2:41 - 2nd) J.Ducker rushed to CC 13 for 6 yards. Tackled by D.Strong; S.Kelly at CC 13.
+1 YD
1 & 10 - CSTCAR 13
(1:28 - 2nd) J.Ducker rushed to CC 12 for 1 yards. Tackled by T.Gallagher at CC 12.
+12 YD
2 & 9 - CSTCAR 12
(1:19 - 2nd) R.Lombardi pass complete to CC 12. Catch made by M.Joiner at CC 12. Gain of 12 yards. M.Joiner for 12 yards TOUCHDOWN.
(3:13 - 3rd) J.Richardson kicks 65 yards from NIL 35 to the CC End Zone. Touchback.
+1 YD
1 & 10 - CSTCAR 25
(3:13 - 3rd) G.McCall rushed to CC 26 for 1 yards. Tackled by L.Deveaux; N.Rattin at CC 26.
-5 YD
2 & 9 - CSTCAR 26
(2:40 - 3rd) B.Bennett rushed to CC 21 for -5 yards. Tackled by M.Kennedy at CC 21.
+3 YD
3 & 14 - CSTCAR 21
(1:59 - 3rd) G.McCall scrambles to CC 24 for 3 yards. Tackled by D.Taylor; D.O'Malley at CC 24.
Punt
4 & 11 - CSTCAR 24
(1:09 - 3rd) C.Ouverson punts 46 yards to NIL 30 Center-C.Schrimpf. C.Tucker returned punt from the NIL 30. Tackled by J.Heiligh at NIL 30. PENALTY on CC-J.Heiligh Offensive Facemask 15 yards accepted.
(9:07 - 4th) K.Colahan kicks 65 yards from CC 35 to the NIL End Zone. Touchback.
+2 YD
1 & 10 - NILL 25
(9:07 - 4th) A.Brown rushed to NIL 27 for 2 yards. Tackled by J.Clark M.Stokes at NIL 27.
+7 YD
2 & 8 - NILL 27
(8:34 - 4th) T.Rudolph rushed to NIL 34 for 7 yards. Tackled by M.Olufemi at NIL 34.
No Gain
3 & 1 - NILL 34
(7:48 - 4th) R.Lombardi rushed to NIL 34 for 0 yards. Tackled by T.Gallagher at NIL 34.
No Gain
4 & 1 - NILL 34
(6:56 - 4th) T.Rudolph rushed to NIL 34 for 0 yards. Tackled by T.Gallagher; S.Kelly at NIL 34. The Replay Official reviewed the first down and the play was upheld.
(6:40 - 4th) K.Colahan kicks 58 yards from CC 35 to the NIL 7. T.Rudolph returns the kickoff. Tackled by J.Morris at NIL 18.
+9 YD
1 & 10 - NILL 18
(6:37 - 4th) R.Lombardi pass complete to NIL 18. Catch made by C.Tucker at NIL 18. Gain of 9 yards. Tackled by A.Spillum; E.Makonzo at NIL 27.
+4 YD
2 & 1 - NILL 27
(5:58 - 4th) J.Ducker rushed to NIL 31 for 4 yards. Tackled by S.Kelly; L.Boykin at NIL 31.
No Gain
1 & 10 - NILL 31
(5:30 - 4th) R.Lombardi steps back to pass. R.Lombardi pass incomplete intended for C.Tucker.
No Gain
2 & 10 - NILL 31
(5:25 - 4th) R.Lombardi steps back to pass. R.Lombardi pass incomplete intended for T.Rudolph.
+16 YD
3 & 10 - NILL 31
(5:22 - 4th) R.Lombardi pass complete to NIL 31. Catch made by C.Tucker at NIL 31. Gain of 16 yards. Tackled by D.Pinckney at NIL 47.
Sack
1 & 10 - NILL 47
(4:59 - 4th) T.Rudolph steps back to pass. T.Rudolph sacked at NIL 38 for -9 yards (L.Boykin)
+5 YD
2 & 19 - NILL 38
(4:16 - 4th) R.Lombardi pass complete to NIL 38. Catch made by M.Joiner at NIL 38. Gain of 5 yards. Tackled by T.Gallagher; S.Kelly at NIL 43.
+17 YD
3 & 14 - NILL 43
(3:38 - 4th) R.Lombardi scrambles to CC 40 for 17 yards. R.Lombardi FUMBLES forced by S.Kelly. Fumble RECOVERED by CC-D.Pinckney at CC 40. Tackled by NIL at CC 48.
This page provides an overview of our use of cookies and similar technologies (from here we will refer to all those as “Cookies”) and how to manage them. For more information please visit our Privacy Policy.
When you visit our properties and use our products and services (“Services”), we use Cookies to analyse and measure our performance, customize content and serve personalized advertisements. We may place our own Cookies (First-party Cookies) or allow our service providers to place Cookies (Third-party Cookies) on your device and collect information such as your device ID, browser type and IP address so they can help us better understand your interaction with our Services. Advertisers and other advertising technology partners may also use their own third-party Cookies to collect information about your visits, deliver advertisements tailored to your interests, keep track of the number of views of a specific advertisement, analyses the effectiveness of advertisements, or provide auditing, research and reporting for advertisers. Such third parties may also match you to an existing interest category (e.g. automobiles) that they’ve developed and provide you with more relevant advertising over time and across different websites.
When you click on save settings below, your preferences will be saved. You can change your settings at any time by using the consent settings module. Note that saving settings is linked to the particular browser and/or device you use to visit our Services. Saving your settings within one particular Service will not affect your choices on other Paramount Services, or if you visit this Service with another device or from a different browser. In addition, it won’t affect any of your activities on third-party services. You have other choices to manage cookies and other tracking technologies on the internet such as using industry choice programs or managing your preferences within your browsers or devices. For more Information refer to our Privacy Policy.
Essential
Always Active
These cookies are essential for the proper functioning of our Services. Essential cookies cannot be switched off in our systems. You can set your device to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the Service will not work.
Analytic & Performance
Always Active
These Cookies allow us to collect information about how visitors use our properties. Some examples include counting visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our services. If you do not allow these Cookies we will not know when users have visited our properties and will not be able to monitor performance.
Functional
Always Active
These Cookies enable the services to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our services. If you do not allow these Cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Marketing and Advertising
Always Active
These Cookies may be set by us or through our services by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertising on this and on other properties. If you do not allow these Cookies, you will still see ads, but you will experience less relevant advertising.
Social Media
Always Active
These Cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the services to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites, building up a profile of your interests to show you relevant content and advertisements on the relevant social networks. If you do not allow these Cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.