Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Texas State

Last meeting

This is the teams’ first meeting

Coastal Carolina

Strength: Receiver

Weakness: Special teams

Texas State

Strength: Defensive athleticism

Weakness: Youth, inexperience

Key matchup

Coastal Carolina’s offensive line vs. Texas State’s linemen and linebackers: The Bobcats play predominantly from a three-man front and like to blitz with smaller but fast defenders. The largest starter on the defense is 285-pound freshman nose tackle Caeveon Patton. So the Chants will have to be alert to pick up blitzes and give quarterback Tyler Keane time to throw. Texas State ranks 38th nationally with 2.43 sacks per game and has posted at least two sacks in five of its seven games. The Bobcats rush defense has also been good, giving up an average of 142.6 yards per game and just 3.7 yards per rush to rank 31st nationally.

Players to watch

Coastal Carolina

Senior quarterback Tyler Keane: For the second time in four games, Keane threw for more than 325 yards against Appalachian State last week, completing 17 of 29 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns without an interception.

Sophomore receiver Ky’Jon Tyler: He had 141 yards on five catches last week, including a 73-yard touchdown reception, and ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference with 127 all-purpose yards per game.

Senior linebacker Kerron Johnson: His 45 games played are the most by a CCU defender and he tied a career high with a team-high 11 tackles last week, as well as a QB hurry.

Texas State

Senior quarterback Damian Williams: The graduate transfer from Mississippi State has started every game this season and has four rushing touchdowns and four passing touchdowns.

Freshman quarterback Willie Jones III: The true freshman may be the more dangerous player in Texas State’s two-quarterback system. He rushed for 58 yards and threw for 197 in the team’s last game against Louisiana-Lafayette.

Junior linebacker Frankie Griffin: The outside linebacker has eight tackles for loss this season, including three sacks, and has forced two fumbles and recovered one.

He said it

“We’re really treating each team the same, just because one team is higher than another doesn’t mean anything to us. We still haven’t won our first Sun Belt game, so this game is bigger than App State, bigger than last week.” – CCU senior tackle Rodney Mitchell

“It definitely feels good to be home. To break this thing at home would be the best feeling. I miss that feeling of turning it up and having a good time with the guys. I think we’re overdue. It’s time to get that last inch, separate the mental errors and get this win.” – CCU senior linebacker Kerron Johnson

“Any time you play a team that has option in their background and in their DNA you have to be assignment-sound. We have to tackle well in space and we have to be smart with our discipline throughout the entire game. That’s going to be critical for us defensively.” – Texas State coach Everett Withers

Scouting report

If the Chants want to avoid finishing in the basement in the Sun Belt Conference in their first season in the league, they may want to win this game. Coastal is trying to snap a program-high six-game losing streak after losing on the road to two of the top Sun Belt programs. After losing by 34 at Arkansas State, the Chants were much more competitive at Appalachian State last week, holding a halftime lead and losing by just eight, 37-29.

“We have to have the same team show up that showed up last week as far as their urgency, their interest level, their commitment to each other,” CCU interim head coach Jamey Chadwell said. “I hope the same team will definitely show up. We can’t go backwards.”

It’s Homecoming weekend for the Chanticleers. “We’re very excited to see all the old heads come back,” senior offensive lineman Rodney Mitchell said. “It’s nice to have support from previous members of the football team to let them know that this legacy that they built is still something we cherish and want to keep building on. We’re ready for Chant nation to be out there and we’ve got to get this win.”

Both coaches see a likeness in their opponent.

“We’re very similar in a lot of ways,” Texas State coach Everett Withers said. “I think we’re two teams battling trying to play four quarters, trying to win a game, trying to play consistent ball. We have very young rosters. We’re one of the youngest teams in the country. Trying to put together a youthful football team that learns how to play together and plays four quarters is going to be critical.”

The Bobcats are coming off a bye week, and like CCU, they have lost six straight since a season-opening win. Five of the six losses have come by at least 17 points, largely because of struggles on offense, as the Bobcats rank last in the Sun Belt in scoring with 13.4 points per game.

“They’ve got a young team, like us, trying to find their way,” Chadwell said. “They’re wanting to get over the hump, just like we are. So this is going to be a big game for both of us because one of us obviously needs a victory and we’ve been sort of playing the same. We’ve played well for two or three quarters, just not four. I think the team that plays together and plays well for four quarters will win this game.”

Notes

▪ Coastal is 10-4 all time in Homecoming games, including a current five-game win streak.

▪ Four of Coastal’s losses in its current losing streak have come by eight points or less

▪ CCU had only 13 pass break-ups in its first six games before recording seven at App State last week, including two each by defensive end Myles White and cornerback Preston Carey.

▪ The Bobcats rank among the top 15 teams in the country in fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards.

▪ Texas State is one of nine FBS schools to have five true freshmen start a game this season.

Line

Coastal Carolina -8.5

Prediction

Coastal Carolina 27, Texas State 17: The Chants hold a struggling offense to a low output and end their six-game losing streak.

This story was originally published October 27, 2017 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Texas State."