Mississippi State faces Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday, Jan. 2. The game will be live streamed on fuboTV (free trial).

Mississippi State players and staff felt they knew what Mike Leach would want them to do following the Dec. 12 death of the Bulldogs coach due to complications from a heart condition: play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois.

Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers is among a group of team leaders that have taken on additional roles for the 24th-ranked Bulldogs (8-4, No. 22 CFP) leading up to the matchup Monday with Illinois (8-4).

Rogers, who completed 386 of 566 passes for 3,713 yards and 34 touchdowns, faces an Illinois defense that allowed fewer than 10 points in six games this season.

Illinois lost all four of its games by eight points or fewer, including a 19-17 loss to Michigan. This is just its third bowl game since beating UCLA 20-14 in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

Illinois will be without running back Chase Brown. The nation’s second-leading rusher in the regular season (1,643 yards) has decided to enter the NFL draft and will not play in the game.

Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito completed 69.9% of his passes (234 of 335) for the third-best completion percentage nationally during the regular season. He threw for 2,397 yards and 15 touchdowns and had four interceptions.

When is the ReliaQuest Bowl?

The ReliaQuest Bowl with Mississippi State and Illinois is 11 a.m. (noon ET) on Monday, Jan. 2.

Will it be live streamed?

FuboTV

The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo standard” package, which comprises 121-plus channels for $69.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

What TV channel will broadcast?

The ReliaQuest Bowl with Mississippi State and Illinois will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Preview

HOMECOMING: Bielema’s wife, Jen, is from Tampa and was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital, which is less than two miles from the game site. She attended the University of South Florida in Tampa.

“I come home every once in a while and she’s got one of those rag-tag sweatshirts still on,” Bielema said. “So, to be going to Tampa and around a lot of her family and friends will be very, very big this time of year for us personally.”

OLD TIMER: Illinois OL Alex Palczewski is set to make his 65th career start in the game, which would tie Appalachian State WR Thomas Hennigan (2017-21) for the most in NCAA history. He will join Moe Gardner (1989-90) as the only Illinois players to be a captain in two bowl games.

UP NEXT: Illinois: Opens next season at home against Toledo on Sept. 2

Mississippi State: Hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.