Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Presbyterian

Last meeting

Coastal Carolina 24-17 on Oct. 10, 2015

Coastal Carolina

Strength: Opportunistic defense, strong offensive line

Weakness: Lack of depth at quarterback and running back

Presbyterian

Strength: Running back

Weakness: Inexperience, lack of depth at quarterback

Key matchup

Coastal Carolina’s offensive line vs. Presbyterian’s front seven: The Chanticleers have run the ball more than 75 percent of the time on offense in the past two weeks, and will likely be heavily balanced on the run again against PC’s 4-3 defense. With starting right tackle Chase Tidwell possibly out for a second straight week with an ankle injury, redshirt freshman Ethan Howard may get his second straight start at right tackle and two-year starting left tackle Voghens Larrieux will move to right tackle again.

Players to watch

Coastal Carolina

Senior receiver Bruce Mapp: He needs two catches to pass Jerome Simpson for second on the program’s all-time receptions list. Mapp has 160 receptions to Simpson’s 161, and has caught a pass in 17 straight games and has TD receptions in eight of his past 11 games.

Senior linebacker Alex Scearce: Presbyterian has seven touchdowns this season. Scearce has three. He scored twice last week on an interception return and fumble recovery to go along with a previous pick-six.

Senior running back Kenneth Daniels: While getting the bulk of CCU’s carries over the past five quarters because of injuries, Daniels has gained 151 yards on 37 carries over the past two games.

Presbyterian

Junior running back Darrell Bridges: He needs just 16 yards to reach 2,000 rushing yards in his career. The preseason All-Big South selection has 523 yards on 138 carries this season for a 3.8-yard average per rush, and rushed for a career-high 186 yards against CCU last season.

Junior linebacker Grant Beidel: He is the only Blue Hose to record double-digit tackles in a game this season, and has done it in each of the past two games with 11 tackles against both Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb.

He said it

“I think the world of Harold Nichols. I think he does a great job. I think kids who play for him and his program have experiences I think a lot of other places may not have. He does care about his kids and spends time on life after football as well.” – CCU head coach Joe Moglia on PC’s head coach

“They’re a typical Coastal Carolina football team: very physical and fast. They’re a handful. They’re very physical up front, especially on the offensive line. We’ve got to make sure we’re able to set a point on defense and be able to hold up in there.” – Presbyterian head coach Harold Nichols

Scouting report

The Chants have rushed for 200 or more yards in six of their seven games and will likely give themselves an opportunity to surpass the mark again while looking for quarterback Tyler Keane to be efficient with up to 20 pass plays. Keane surpassed 200 yards of total offense for the first time in his four starts last week against Central Connecticut State, completing 7 of 15 passes for 141 yards and gaining 61 yards on 11 carries. Presbyterian will be geared to stop CCU’s rushing attack considering the Chants’ multiple injuries at quarterback.

Coastal may face Ben Cheek, who began the season as the starting QB, or backup John Walker, depending on whether Cheek can go as he recovers from an injury. Under Walker, Presbyterian’s offense was held to 102 total yards against Charleston Southern last week. The Blue Hose utilize screen passes offensively, and screens repeatedly hurt the Chants last week against CCSU.

The Chants have enjoyed some lopsided victories against Presbyterian, including a 65-7 win on the road in 2012. But the Blue Hose nearly knocked off the Chants – ranked Nos. 1/2 in FCS at the time – at Brooks Stadium last year, falling 24-17. CCU scored a touchdown on a fake field goal in the game and held PC scoreless on a first-and-goal late in the game.

Notes

▪ Coastal leads the overall series against Presbyterian 8-1, with its lone loss coming in the teams’ first meeting in 2007.

▪ Coastal could feature an all-Grand Strand backfield at times in the game with Keane of Myrtle Beach and freshman running back Jah’Maine Martin of Conway, who had three carries for 9 yards in his first college game last week. “We like what Jah’Maine has been doing all along, so we won’t hesitate to use him,” Moglia said.

▪ Safety Richie Sampson suffered a knee injury in the third quarter last week against Central Connecticut State and has been ruled out this week by Moglia, so sophomore safety Michael Billings of Georgetown should see more action and could start. “Sadly Richie went down, but we’ve got another guy to step up and take his place and we’re all going to help him feel comfortable in that position,” junior linebacker Shane Johnson said.

Prediction

Coastal Carolina 34, Presbyterian 10. Coastal Carolina’s overall talent and depth at several positions should allow the Chants to control the game on the road.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Presbyterian."