How Coastal Carolina football made history again in a dominating win over Texas State
There was no letdown for Coastal Carolina.
Not on Saturday, and not this season.
The Chanticleers, ranked 20th in this week’s initial College Football Playoff rankings, improved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the Sun Belt Conference on Saturday with a 49-14 demolition of Texas State at Bobcats Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.
The win clinches the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division and home field for the conference championship game against Louisiana scheduled for Dec. 19.
“It’s a blessing to be in this position we’re in right now. We’ve been working for it since we got here,” fifth-year senior defensive end Tarron Jackson said. “To get this opportunity is definitely a blessing. A lot of guys come in and they work their whole career and they don’t get this opportunity.”
Coastal controlled the game on the ground through steady rain, wind and a slick field, rushing for 406 of its 572 total yards of offense.
Senior running back C.J. Marable surpassed 100 yards rushing in the first quarter on his way to a season-high 154 yards and career-high three rushing touchdowns on 15 carries in less than three full quarters of play.
Marable said co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach Newland Isaac told him and his backfield mates to be prepared to carry the load, in part because of the weather.
“I was happy because coach Isaac told me, ‘Today is going to be your day, they’re going to put it on your back,’ ” Marable said. “The line had a great day, they were blocking and doing their thing, the line and also the wide receivers blocking on the perimeter. I was excited. It was good to get out there and run around a little bit.
“. . . I love to play in this weather because I know for a fact we’re going to be pounding the ball, we’re going to be running the ball constantly.”
Reese White added 72 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and Grayson McCall completed 11 of 18 passes for 154 yards and two TDs – both to Jaivon Heiligh – while also rushing for 25 yards.
Coastal head coach Jamey Chadwell said the Chants intended to run the ball an inordinate amount regardless of the weather conditions.
“Our plan coming up here was to try to run the football, especially once we found out the weather was going to be what it was, and obviously we did that,” Chadwell said.
Coastal held the Bobcats, who were coming off a 47-45 win over Arkansas State last week, to 318 yards of offense, which included a 66-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. Jackson had 2.5 sacks to give him a team-leading 8.5 on the season and matched senior linebacker Silas Kelly with a team-high six tackles.
Texas State (2-10) completed its season at 2-6 in the conference, and CCU avoided a letdown between big games between Appalachian State last week and Liberty (9-0) this upcoming Saturday at Brooks Stadium, as both opponents have been ranked this year in the AP Top 25 Poll.
“It wasn’t an easy game to play with the weather . . . and everybody talking about how this could potentially be a trap game with the big win we had last week,” Chadwell said. “But our team came out focused from the opening kickoff. We were able to jump up 14-0 and 14-7 and we were able to really put the game away there in the second quarter.”
Coastal scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions, stretching through the opening possession of the second half.
A Jackson sack on the first play from scrimmage led to a Texas State punt and Marable’s first TD, as he gained 42 yards on a run prior to his 14-yard touchdown run.
Safety Alex Spillum forced and recovered a fumble for the game’s only turnover, leading to Marable’s second TD on a 9-yard run.
Texas State drove 77 yards in seven plays for its first score, a 14-yard reception by Javen Banks from Brady McBride, who completed 20 of 26 passes for 202 yards and the TD.
Coastal responded with an eight-play, 55-yard drive capped by a 10-yard White scoring run and the Chants were on their way to the rout.
Heiligh had TD receptions of 14 and 7 yards, Marable added a 23-yard TD run and Baden Pinson scored on a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter to finish off a 94-yard drive.
“We’ve got some senior leadership here that’s special. They’ve been through a lot, and there has not been one time where they’ve allowed all this positive publicity to keep our focus or take our focus away from what they want to accomplish,” Chadwell said. “To be honest with you I was a little worried this week more than any because of the big win, coming up here, the long travel, because of how the weather was going to be, are we going to come up here and sort of just go through the motions and be in a dog fight?
“To the team’s credit they did a great job of having focus during Thanksgiving. They did what they were supposed to do. So I’m not surprised by anything they’re able to accomplish because I know they’ve put the work in, I know they’ve set their mind on a certain goal and they don’t want anything to come in the way of having that opportunity.”
The Chanticleers have won the East Division crown in their fourth season in the conference since moving up from the FCS level, and were picked to finish last in the Sun Belt in the preseason coaches’ poll.
“It definitely feels good to silence some of the doubters coming in,” Jackson said. “But we knew people weren’t going to believe in us because they don’t know what we have in the locker room and the work we put in over the summer.
“Most of that stuff was based off last season so we weren’t too mad about it, but we knew what we had to do.”
This story was originally published November 28, 2020 at 6:04 PM.
