Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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The Other Side of the Wall: The Coastal Carolina Preview

Thomas Gleaton

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Quick Facts

  • 2018 Record: 5-7
  • Conference: Sun Belt (since 2013)
  • Head coach: Jamey Chadwell (2nd season*, 6-13)
  • 0-2 record against Troy all-time
  • Last meeting: 2018, Troy W 45-21
  • Location: Myrtle Beach, SC

* – took over for Joe Moglia in 2017 when he stepped down for health reasons.

Coastal Carolina’s Offense

Players to Watch:
  • RB CJ Marable
  • QB Bryce Carpenter
  • RB Jacqez Hairston
  • QB Fred Payton

Georgia State is a balanced team, but its offense was centered around its quarterback. Coastal’s offense lives and dies by its running back C.J. Marable. He’s No. 5 in the Sun Belt in all-purpose yards, and he’s actually second on the team in receiving yards.

Marable is only the No. 8 rusher in the conference, but this offense is in the top 40 nationwide rushing. That wouldn’t be a problem if Tra Barnett hadn’t exposed this defense last week.

Watch for the Chants to mix Jacqez Hairston in just to get fresh legs. The list of players to watch is literally the top four rushers, in order.

Backup quarterback Bryce Carpenter is second in rushing yards and pass yards alike.

The starter, Fred Payton, is No. 6 in the conference in pass efficiency and over 1000 yards passing. He’s No. 7 in the conference in total offense.

The Wide Receivers:

  • Jaivon Heiligh
  • Isaiah Likely
  • Jeremiah Miller
  • T’Qele Holmes

I didn’t put Marable on this list, but he’s definitely deserving of being on this list. T’Qele Holmes has 99 yards receiving, and he’s No. 5 out of the 5 receivers I’ve mentioned.

Jaivon Heiligh has 325 yards, the most on the team. Isaiah Likely is tied with Marable for the most touchdowns with three. Jeremiah Miller is also common target, even though he has about half the receptions Heiligh has.

Coastal is nearly every bit as balanced as Georgia State was. All the pieces are there; the Chants just don’t get on the board as often as they should.

The last time Coastal put double digits on the board in a single quarter was the first quarter against Appalachian State over a month ago. In the third quarter of that game, the Chants put nine points on the board.

They haven’t scored that many since… yet they’re the No. 44 scoring offense in the country.

Chalk it up to failing on third down (38%, No. 72 in the country) or -1 turnover margin (No. 76, tied with eight other teams), but as good as this offense is the results aren’t showing in the win/loss column.

That could change this weekend if Troy doesn’t shut down Marable and the run game. The Trojans have to get this offense off the field as quickly as possible.

The Chanticleer Defense

Players to Watch:
  • DT C.J. Brewer
  • CB Mallory Claybourne
  • LB Teddy Gallagher
  • DE Tarron Jackson
  • DT Sterling Johnson
  • CB Chandler Kryst

Teddy Gallagher is an absolute monster. He’s gotten at least 10 tackles each of the last four games… and that includes against Appalachian State. Gallagher has 65 tackles this year, good for 9.3 a game and a No. 26 rank nationwide.

Mallory Claybourne is right behind him with 43, but he has an interception and two pass breakups. The king of INTs for this defense is Chandler Kryst, who has three this year. Kryst also leads the team with three pass breakups.

C.J. Brewer is third on the tackles list, and tied for second in tackles for loss with Tarron Jackson. Jackson leads the team in sacks with 4.5 and QB hurries with 12. Sterling Johnson leads the team in tackles for loss, but his two sacks put him second on the team.

The Chants are No. 5 in the country in passing yards allowed, but No. 87 in rushing yards allowed. At first glance, this defense will clamp down on Troy’s aerial attack, but a deeper look shows success by passing teams.

Coastal has the best pass defense in the conference… but it also has the fewest passes attempted against its defense by at least 46.

Until last night’s loss to Georgia Southern, Zac Thomas’s best passing performance came against the Chants with 246 yards and two touchdowns. At the beginning of the year, Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass went 20-for-22 with 188 yards and three touchdowns.

The catch is the number of interceptions this team has. Coastal has one per game right now, but as long as Kaleb avoids throwing it toward Kryst there shouldn’t be an issue with scoring.

Breakdown

Chanticleer opponents average 27 points a game, which is exactly how many points they have off turnovers. Opponents have scored at least 28 points in the last four games.

If you take out the blowouts against UMass and Norfolk State, Coastal averages 23 points a game, and it hasn’t scored more than 37… in a blowout loss to Appalachian State.

When it comes to crunch time, Troy has an opportunity to take advantage of mistakes. I’ve already brought up the 38% on third downs. It’s also worth mentioning Coastal is only 30-for-36 in the red zone, and it’s missed four PATs this year.

Troy has an opportunity to expose this defense through the air, and it may be the Trojans’ best chance at winning. Billingsley, Woolfolk & Co. need to have a solid game at least.

This game will feel a lot closer than it should. The Chants outscore opponents in the first and fourth quarters 100-62. They may get ahead early, and they may make it close at the end.

Conclusion

The truth is that Coastal has gotten better as Troy has gotten worse. These teams are a lot closer in talent and coaching than last year, and this schedule is not going to get easier.

I’ve said “this is the game where Troy can get back on track” for too long now. Troy can win this game. The Trojans should win this game. Will they?

I think they have to.

Prediction: 34-28 Troy