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

Who: Appalachian State (5-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) at Coastal Carolina (5-3, 2-2 Sun Belt)

When: 5 p.m. (Eastern)

Where: Brooks Stadium, Conway

Occassion: Homecoming

TV: Live online on ESPN+

Radio: WRNN 99.5-FM

Online audio: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/coastal/

Live stats: Through www.goccusports.com GameTracker

Last meeting

Appalachian State 37-29 on Oct. 21, 2017 in Boone, N.C.

Coastal Carolina

Strength: Rushing attack

Weakness: Run defense

Appalachian State

Strength: Pedigree, rushing attack

Weakness: Skill position injuries

Key matchup

Appalachian State’s offensive line vs. Coastal Carolina’s defensive front seven: Appalachian State starting sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas has been in concussion protocol all week and is considered a game-time decision, and if he can’t go the Mountaineers may rely more on their run game. Coastal is among the worst teams in the country in run defense. The Chants are 112th out of 129 teams in average rushing yards allowed per game with 217.8 and give up a whopping 6.67 yards per rush. That has contributed to CCU being 127th in the nation in yards allowed per play at 7.39, ahead of only Georgia State (7.61) and Connecticut (8.90). The CCU defensive line has done a decent job rushing the passer but has been porous against the run. The Chants allowed 290 rushing yards to Georgia State last week, including 206 and three touchdowns on nine carries in the third quarter.

Despite losing senior running back Jalin Moore to a season-ending ankle injury on Oct. 9, the Mountaineers have the 10th-best rushing offense in the country with 248.4 yards per game on the ground, which is just behind Coastal in ninth with 251.6. Sophomore Darrynton Evans has picked up the slack, gaining 488 yards with three rushing TDs and an average of 6.3 yards per carry. His 105.5 rushing yards per game are second in the Sun Belt Conference, and he’s first in the conference with 145.8 all-purpose yards per game. The ASU offensive line has had just one change to the starting lineup all season.

Players to watch

Coastal Carolina

Senior running back Marcus Outlow: The 5-10, 205-pound Boston College transfer ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 649 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 126 carries for an average of 5.2 yards per rush. He also has six catches for 45 yards.

Sophomore running back Torrance “C.J.” Marable: The 5-10, 190-pound Presbyterian transfer is coming off his first 100-yard game as a Chant and has 576 yards and six TDs on 81 carries for a 7.1-yard average.

Sophomore linebacker Teddy Gallagher: The 6-1, 235-pounder from Los Angeles had a breakout game last week against Georgia State with a team-high eight solo tackles, including three for losses totaling 13 yards, to likely earn his first start of the season.

Appalachian State

Sophomore quarterback Zac Thomas: If he’s healthy, the Alabama native is a key part of the offense. He has completed 81 of 133 passes for 1,145 yards with 11 TDs and four interceptions.

Sophomore receiver Corey Sutton: The 6-foot-3 Cornelius, N.C., native leads the team with 21 receptions for 430 yards and four touchdowns, and he’s 12th nationally with 21.53 yards per catch.

Sophomore linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither: The undersized outside linebacker has a team-leading 57 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss of yards, and four pass breakups.

He said it

“[A bowl] is in the back of our minds. But the next game is the next game. It gets us to six wins, therefore we have a bowl game. It’s more than six wins for us. We’re taking it one game at a time, six, seven, eight or nine, whatever it takes.” – CCU junior tight end Shadell Bell

“That program is the foundation for what almost every program in the country should be like. The way it was built and how it was built with Appalachian guys. It just shows you our conference is definitely trending in the right direction. We’ve got some really good football teams and we’ve got some very, very good coaches, and it just says a lot. People take notice.” – Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott, who played at ASU and coached there for 12 years

“Beating App, who is one of the better teams in the entire nation, that would be a great feather in our cap. I mean, these guys are really, really good. That would be a definite upset. But we could do that. We could upset them. That would go down as one of our greatest wins.” – CCU coach Joe Moglia

Scouting report

The winner of the game will become eligible for a bowl game, which has become customary for the Mountaineers but would be quite an accomplishment for the Chanticleers in their first year of eligibility after moving up from the Football Championship Subdivision.

Appalachian State is 30-4 in its last 34 conference games and 14-3 in its last 17 conference road games including its 34-14 loss last Thursday at Georgia Southern, and the Mountaineers are in the middle of three straight road games. The Mountaineers rank in the top 16 nationally with Sun Belt-leading averages of 40.4 points scored per game (14th) and 18.3 points allowed per game (16th).

The Chanticleers may rely heavily on a freshman quarterback to knock off the team that is perhaps the class of the Sun Belt Conference. With senior QB Kilton Anderson still battling a high ankle sprain, Fred Payton from Suwanee, Ga., may get his second straight start, though Moglia said this week that he expects Anderson to get some playing time. Payton has completed 20 of 27 passes on the season for 363 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, and has gained 101 yards on 23 carries.

Georgia Southern defeated ASU despite completing just one pass and attempting three. The Eagles gained 277 yards on 50 carries and CCU is sure to test the run defense. The Chants have rushed for more than 250 yards in six of their eight games this season, including in each of their last three. Coastal ranks fourth in the country in time of possession at about 35 minutes per game, and has had the ball more than 34 minutes in each of its last five games.

If Thomas can’t go at QB for the Mountaineers, redshirt freshman Peyton Derrick of Conway or sophomore Jacob Huesman would get the start. Derrick was just 3 of 12 for 73 yards with the two interceptions in relief of Thomas last week. Huesman replaced Derrick late in the third quarter and completed 8 of 14 passes for 67 yards, a TD and two interceptions.

Notes

▪ This will be Appalachian State’s first visit to Brooks Stadium. The Mountaineers are 4-0 all time against CCU with all of the games in Boone, N.C.

▪ Coastal is playing its third home game compared to six road games, and is kicking off a three-game homestand.

▪ Appalachian State has blocked three punts and a field goal this season, and the four blocked kicks are tied for third nationally.

▪ For the third consecutive week the Chants’ opponent will have additional preparation time for the game. UMass was coming off a bye week and both Georgia State and Appalachian State played Thursday games the previous week. Coastal lost to UL-Monroe 45-20 following its bye week.

▪ Coastal is 10-5 in Homecoming games at Brooks Stadium.

Line

Appalachian State -14.5

Prediction

Appalachian State 34, Coastal 27: The Chants may catch a break if Thomas can’t play, but do the Mountaineers have too much depth regardless?