CCU has one of the nation’s top-rated quarterbacks. Will he play Saturday at Troy?

Coastal Carolina has one of the nation’s top-rated quarterbacks.

Will he be able to play Saturday in a key Sun Belt Conference game at Troy?

Through four games this season, graduate student Kilton Anderson has the fifth-best Total Quarterback Rating in the nation behind only Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and West Virginia’s Will Grier. Those four QBs all have their teams undefeated and ranked in the top 12 in FBS Associated Press top 25 poll.

Coastal is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, as is Troy.

“It’s definitely nice to have those accolades but I’m just happy we’re winning,” Anderson said. “That’s our main goal, that’s what we want at the end of the day is a W. I’m just really proud of our guys that week by week, no matter the adversity that strikes, we continue to win.”

But Anderson suffered a high sprain on his left ankle last Saturday in a 30-28 win at Louisiana-Lafayette and his availability for Saturday’s game is uncertain.

CCU head coach Joe Moglia said a final decision would likely be made Saturday morning.

Anderson was still in a protective boot Thursday and has not participated in practice this week.

“He’s not going to practice this week, but he doesn’t necessarily need practice, he just needs to stay off his ankle,” Moglia said.

Coastal has a bye week following Saturday’s game and won’t play again until it hosts Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 13. Moglia said the potential extra rest next week won’t factor into his decision on Anderson’s status at Troy.

“He’s either going to be ready or he’s not. If he’s ready to go I’m happy for him to play, if he’s not ready to go he’s not going to play,” Moglia said. “If he’s not, we’re not going to risk him at all. If he’s ready, there’s no need to wait.”

Anderson has completed 39 of 56 passes (69.6 percent) for 564 yards, six touchdowns and one interception that came on a deep pass on the final play of the first half against Campbell, and has rushed 34 times for 215 yards (6.32 yards per carry) and a TD. He completed 16 consecutive pass attempts in games against UAB and Campbell.

He took over the starting job late last year and maintained it through spring and fall practices.

“He’s very much respected by the guys on the team. He’s a member of the team leadership council,” Moglia said. “What happened through that period (over the past year) is he started to make better decisions, he started to execute a little bit more crisply, and that has really had a positive impact on our team because that carried over to game day.

“He has played like a warrior. He’s gotten hit several times. He’s a tough kid, a respected kid, and he has really done a very, very good job for us.”

If Anderson can’t go, true freshman Bryce Carpenter will get the start. In relief last week, Carpenter was 5-for-5 for 82 yards and a touchdown, rushed five times for 8 yards, and made key plays down the stretch to secure the win.

Carpenter, the reigning Florida Mr. Football, has played in all four games this season and completed 9 of 12 passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and has rushed 13 times for 61 yards.

The offense will likely be more limited with Carpenter behind center because of his youth and relative inexperience, and offensive coordinator Jamey Chadwell will have to game plan accordingly.

“There’s a level of experience associated with Kilton that Bryce doesn’t necessarily have,” Moglia said. “Having said that, Bryce was with us in the spring and Bryce is a very good athlete, a very good quarterback. Jamey . . . is not going to ask Bryce to do things just because Kilton can do them. He’s going to have a little bit more of a varied game plan and varied package for Bryce, so Bryce can execute what we know he can do well.”

Carpenter and Anderson are roommates on the road, so they had a long time to compare notes and share information while the team was on its 12-day road trip over the past two-plus weeks while campus has been closed to students and athletic teams.

“We actually learn from each other,” Anderson said. “When we see things happen we can talk it out, then he’ll learn from me and I’ll learn from him, so it’s a win-win situation.”

Close to home

Though the Chanticleers are back on the Grand Strand, they aren’t quite home yet.

That will come after they return from Troy and the campus has reopened to students. Classes will be back in session Monday.

Hurricane Florence and subsequent flooding has kept the Chants off campus for more than two full weeks, and they spent 12 days on the road, including eight of those days in a hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., between games against Campbell and Louisiana.

“We are still in evacuation mode, but at least we’re in evacuation mode back home and we feel pretty good about that,” Moglia said.

The journey feels like it has been so long, sophomore linebacker Silas Kelly is actually looking forward to going back to class again.

“Being out of school this long is throwing a wrench into the classes and making everything a bit more difficult,” Kelly said. “Maybe some of the other students, when they get back they’ll be a little disappointed, but I think all of our guys will be a little bit happy about it. We’re all out of sorts, we don’t know what’s going on with the semester.”

Players in off-campus housing are largely back in their residences this week, and those with university housing are staying in the Sheraton hotel, where the coaching staff has set up a base of operations.

The team has been practicing at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach.

“It’s definitely difficult. You have a lot of distractions, guys are driving to practice,” Kelly said. “We’re all kind of sick of being there [at the hotel], but when you get on the practice field you have to leave all that stuff outside the fence and be totally locked in with a combat mindset on the field, and focus on your responsibilities and what you have to do.”

Giant care package

Coastal got more than a win in its trip to Lafayette, La., last week.

On Friday and Saturday, Louisiana-Lafayette solicited and collected donated relief supplies at its football stadium to benefit areas around Coastal Carolina that have been impacted by Hurricane Florence and flooding.

“There was enough there that we weren’t able to even bring it all back home on our tractor-trailer,” Moglia said. “I’m grateful for what [coach Billy Napier] did and for what the community of Lafayette, Louisiana did.”

Saturday’s Football Game

Teams: Coastal Carolina (3-1, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) vs. Troy (3-1, 1-0 Sun Belt)

Time: 3:30 p.m. (Eastern)

Where: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, Ala.

TV: ESPN3

Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 8:50 PM.