What you need to know about Coastal Carolina vs. Citadel football on Thursday night
The Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers open the 2021 college football season Thursday night by hosting The Citadel. Here’s what you should know about the game.
The opponent: The Citadel
The Citadel is coming off a highly unusual season in which it went 2-10 while playing four games in the fall of 2020 and eight games in the spring of 2021. It won two of its last three over Wofford and Furman in April. The Bulldogs were picked to finish seventh/eighth in the Southern Conference in preseason polls.
Citadel features a triple-option, three-running back flexbone attack led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Jaylan Adams, who led the team last season in carries (179), rushing yards (757) and rushing touchdowns (9), as well as passing yards and passing touchdowns (3).
“It’s a challenge just because you don’t see that a lot except for military academies typically,” CCU head coach Jamey Chadwell said. “They do a good job with it. They’re tough, they’re physical, they’re disciplined, and if you don’t match that toughness, if you don’t match that physicality they can run you out of the building. Then they play-action you so you have to have great discipline.”
Coastal Carolina team notes
Coastal returns 19 of 22 starters from last season, and they combine for a few hundred collegiate starts. The Chants are older and experienced with 13 sixth-year super seniors who have taken advantage of the NCAA’s granting of an extra year of eligibility to all 2020 fall sports athletes because of the impacts of the coronavirus.
The Chants have four new starters, as super senior Kameron Brown replaces the departed Sam Denmark at a wide receiver position, and running backs Reese White and Shermari Jones replace the departed C.J. Marable in the backfield.
Redshirt freshman Braylon Ryan (6-2, 275) of Greenwood won the competition to replace current Philadelphia Eagle Tarron Jackson at defensive end, and Travis Geiger Jr. (6-4, 310) beat out fellow redshirt junior Jerrod Clark (6-4, 345), the starter in 2020, for the nose tackle job, though Clark is expected to also see a lot of playing time.
Last meeting: Chanticleers vs Bulldogs
Citadel won 41-38 on Nov. 28, 2015, in Conway in the first round of the FCS playoffs. (All-time series tied 1-1.)
Coastal vs The Citadel betting line
Coastal Carolina is favored by 35 points. The over/under is set at 56 1/2 points.
Score prediction
Coastal Carolina 55, Citadel 10: The Chants may be challenged by Citadel’s unusual wishbone/wing-T offense but that shouldn’t be much of a roadblock to a big win to start the season.
What is a Chanticleer?
Coastal Carolina has one of the more unique nicknames and mascots in all of sports. The Chanticleer is featured in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and is a rooster that rules the barnyard with cunning and wit. He battles to the end using his brain to come out victorious.
The rooster is a play off the University of South Carolina’s Gamecock, as CCU was part of the USC system until becoming independent in 1993. It’s pronounced ‘SHON-ti-cleer’ and the school doesn’t take kindly to mispronunciations.
What’s up with CCU’s teal ‘Surf Turf’?
Don’t try to adjust your TV settings, it’s just that color.
After playing on natural grass at Brooks Stadium for the first 12 years of the program’s existence, Coastal Carolina installed an artificial teal-colored ‘Surf Turf’ prior to the 2015 season, reflecting one of the school’s primary colors and its proximity to the beach.
Where is Coastal Carolina located?
CCU is in Conway, South Carolina, a neighboring town to the better known Myrtle Beach. The college is east of the center of Conway and is only about 12 miles from the beach along the Atlantic Ocean.
Conway is a more quaint town with a riverfront along the Waccamaw River compared to Myrtle Beach’s vibrant and bustling tourism businesses featuring nightlife, shopping, restaurants, beachwear stores and miniature golf courses.
Coastal Carolina vs. The Citadel: Watch, stream
- Who: No. 22 Coastal Carolina (0-0) vs. Citadel (0-0)
- When: 7 p.m. Thursday
- Where: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
- Occasion: Season opener for both teams
- Online: ESPN+
- Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM
- Tickets: Are available at the stadium box office on game day, Chanticleer Athletics Ticket Office in Arcadia Hall at 132 Chanticleer Drive West, and through 843-347-8499 (TIXX) or the tickets@coastal.edu email
- Live stats: Through www.Coastal.statbroadcast.com and GameTracker
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 8:30 AM.
