CCU’s bowl hopes came down to the final game. Did the Chants extend their season?

Coastal Carolina completed its late-season collapse Friday in Mobile, Ala.

The Chanticleers fell to South Alabama 31-28 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium to drop their final four games of the season and fail to become eligible for the program’s first bowl game by a single win.

Coastal finished the season 5-7.

“Certainly everybody will feel bad about not being able to achieve that,” Coastal coach Joe Moglia said. “It’s one game at a time, and tonight was a game I told our guys tonight’s game could have gone either way.”

The Chants were 5-3 after an Oct.<TH>27 win at Georgia State, but they dropped their remaining games to Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern and South Alabama to fall to 2-6 in the Sun Belt Conference, matching their league record in their inaugural season in the conference last year.

The first three late-season losses were to teams that are among the best in the Sun Belt.

South Alabama, however, improved to 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the conference and snapped a four-game losing streak with the post-Thanksgiving win.

South Alabama outgained Coastal 533-385 in total yards, including 331 rushing. Junior running back Tra Minter had 203 yards rushing on 24 carries and big senior receiver Jamarius Way had six receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns.

CCU senior Kilton Anderson completed 20 of 32 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown, senior receiver Malcolm Williams had seven receptions for 109 yards and a score, and sophomore running back Alex James had two touchdown runs, though the Chants were held to 92 yards rushing on 30 carries.

Moglia said he was disappointed with the way the offense, defense and special teams finished the season and analysis of the team’s late-season issues will be required.

“Now that the season is over for us, we need to … analyze why that happened and why did we struggle, and was it something that we should have been able to fix that we didn’t fix, and what was the problem?” Moglia said. “We’re going to have to take a good look at that in the offseason, and I think we’ll do a good job of analyzing why we had problems and then it’s our job to be able to get those problems fixed.”

Coastal trailed 24-7 at halftime after turning the ball over three times on a pair of fumbles and an interception.

South Alabama won the coin toss, elected to receive and drove 67 yards in 11 plays for a 32-yard Gavin Patterson field goal. Minter had a 31-yard reception and 26-yard run on the drive, which assured Coastal trailed in <FZ,1,0,32>every game this season.

The Chants fumbled on their fourth offensive play, as an option handoff exchange between Anderson and James fell to the turf and was recovered by nose tackle Jordon Beaton. The Jaguars took advantage on the next play, with Cole Garvin hitting Way on a 45-yard pass on a deep cross that beat Derick Bush in coverage for a 10-0 lead.

Patterson missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt following a 52-yard drive, but Evan Orth replaced Garvin at quarterback and his first play was a 73-yard touchdown pass to Way, who was 10 yards behind the nearest defender streaking down the middle of the field to give the Jaguars a 17-0 lead.

The Jags held a 262-40 advantage in offensive yards following Way’s second touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Bryce Carpenter got CCU on the board on his first play of the game. After Anderson left with an injury, Carpenter hit tight end Isaiah Likely down the middle seam for a 31-yard touchdown pass, and Likely’s third score in six quarters.

South Alabama drove 75 yards in 13 plays to regain a 17-point lead on a 6-yard Kawaan Baker run with 2:46 left in the first half.

Anderson re-entered and had a deep pass intended for Williams intercepted at the South Alabama 33. The Coastal defense held and the Chants survived a fumble late in the first half to trail by 17 points at halftime.

Coastal showed some life after halftime, driving 71 yards in nine plays for a 2-yard James touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half. James converted a fourth-and-4 at the South Alabama 28 with a 24-yard run on an option pitch that included a facemask penalty that moved the ball to the 2.

Ky’Jon Tyler fumbled during his return of the second half kickoff but the ball bounced out of bounds so CCU retained possession.

Minter ran for 43 yards to the CCU 30 on South Alabama’s first offensive play of the second half, but the Chants held the Jags without points. The Jags regained their 24-point lead, however, on a 7-yard Way touchdown reception with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter. Garvin scrambled away from a blitz and found his 6-foot-4, 220-pound target at the goal line.

A 1-yard James touchdown run pulled CCU within 10 points early in the fourth quarter and completed an eight-play, 65-yard drive that included two Anderson runs for 26 combined yards and a 14-yard pass to Jeremiah Miller on third-and-13.

A 16-yard Williams touchdown reception from Anderson with 34 seconds left pulled the Chants within three points after they recovered a fumble during the final two minutes and drove 80 yards in five plays.

South Alabama recovered an onside kick to ice the game and season for both teams.

The Chants had two previous possessions while trailing by 10 points during the fourth quarter, but they ended in a punt and Anderson incomplete pass intended for Miller on fourth-and-4.

“The only thing I ask is under no circumstances can they finish the game not giving everything they’ve possibly got … and I definitely think that was in fact what our guys did, so I feel good from that perspective,” Moglia said.

This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 7:44 PM.