Gameday Guide: Coastal Carolina vs. Arkansas State preview, kickoff, odds, TV, radio
Coastal Carolina, which is ranked No. 15 in both The Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today coaches poll, can become the first team in the nation to become bowl-eligible with its sixth win of the season Thursday night in a game broadcast on ESPNU. CCU is one of 14 FBS teams with five wins.
The opponent: Arkansas State Red Wolves
Arkansas State is one of the Sun Belt teams that made a splash in the offseason with its head coaching hire.
After seven-year Red Wolves coach Blake Anderson left for Utah State in December, ASU hired Butch Jones, who has been a head coach at Tennessee (2013-17), Cincinnati (2010-12) and Central Michigan (2007-09) in addition to also spending the past three seasons (2018-20) on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama.
Arkansas State has struggled, however, with its only win against FCS program Central Arkansas in its opener, and its defense has been historically bad.
Arkansas State is on pace to allow 6,765 yards this season, which would be the second highest total in college football in the last five years behind UConn in 2017. It is last among 130 FBS teams in yards allowed per game at 564, 129th in points allowed (45.6), 129th in rushing yards allowed and 122nd in passing yards allowed.
The Red Wolves allowed 503 yards rushing to Georgia Southern’s option rushing offense in last week’s 59-33 loss; 663 yards in a 41-34 loss to Tulsa that included more than 300 yards both rushing and passing; 598 allowed in a 52-3 loss to Washington with 398 passing and 200 rushing; and 417 yards passing in a 55-50 loss to Memphis.
The Red Wolves can score, however, behind quarterbacks James Blackman and Layne Hatcher, who combined to throw for 582 yards and five TDs with no interceptions vs. Memphis in Week 2.
“They’ve got a really good offense,” CCU super senior linebacker Teddy Gallagher said. “Just like they’ve had for the past couple years they have two really good quarterbacks. One left but they found another good quarterback. They’re going to try to take shots down the field. ... They give up points but they also put up points, so they’re going to try to attack us down the field and we’ve got to be ready for that.”
Blackman (102-172-4, 1,264 yards, 8 TDs) and Hatcher (49-79-2, 621 yards, 7 TDs) have combined to throw for 1,885 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
“Both individuals have similar skill sets,” Jones said. “... Our issues are not at the quarterback position at all. It’s being able to protect the quarterback, being able to run the football and being able to catch the ball on a consistent basis as well. But Coastal presents so many challenges for you [defensively].”
ASU is one of the few teams that have run back both a punt and kickoff for touchdowns, and CCU’s special teams have been impactful with three blocked punts and a blocked field goal attempt this season to lead the nation in blocked kicks, in addition to having success in other areas.
Coastal Carolina notes, Grayson McCall update
CCU received a scare last Saturday when quarterback Grayson McCall emerged from the locker room after halftime with a protective walking boot on his left leg and foot, but CCU coach Jamey Chadwell assured early this week that McCall is fine and will play against Arkansas State.
“He’s ready to rock and roll. It was a lower body precautionary thing, but everything is looking great right now,” Chadwell said Monday.
CCU’s offense has been rolling under McCall, ranking second in the nation in both points per game (48.2) and yards per play (8.4). McCall is ranked first in the nation in passing efficiency, completion percentage (80.2) and yards per pass attempt (12.94).
CCU’s defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the past two games to move up to seventh in the country in points allowed per game (14) and third in passing yards allowed per game (131). It has yet to allow a passing touchdown this season.
Consecutive blowout wins against UMass and Louisiana-Monroe allowed CCU to rest starters in the second half of each game and get a few players healthy. Both senior running back Shermari Jones (two games missed) and senior kicker Massimo Biscardi (three games missed) are expected to play.
CCU extended its conference winning streak to 10 straight games with its win over ULM last week, and is looking to extend its winning streak in true road games to seven straight.
“It’s hard to win on the road in this league. We’ve never won in Jonesboro — we’re 0-2,” Chadwell said. “... And it’s the first time we’ve had a quick turnaround like this so we have to make sure we’re ready to focus on that and go up there and be able to execute on a high level.”
In its last visit to Jonesboro in 2019, CCU took a six-point lead with 2:30 to play but allowed a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining to lose by a point and fall to 4-6 to have its bowl hopes diminished.
“The last time they had the game-winning touchdown with like 8 seconds left. That one hurt really bad especially since we ended up missing a bowl game by one game,” Gallagher said. “We definitely still feel that. We want to go down there and come out with a win.”
Last meeting: Chanticleers vs Red Wolves
CCU won 52-23 on Oct. 3, 2020 in Conway, South Carolina. (CCU is 1-3 vs. ASU and 0-2 in Jonesboro all-time, with losses of 51-17, 44-16 and 28-27 between 2017-19.)
Coastal vs. Arkansas St. betting line
Coastal Carolina is favored by 20 points. The over/under is set at 73 points.
Score prediction
Coastal Carolina 60, Arkansas State 24: The Red Wolves defense will have a difficult time stopping anything the Chants attempt to do, especially on a short week with little time to prepare for CCU’s dynamic offense.
What channel is the Coastal Carolina game on?
- Who: No. 15 Coastal Carolina (5-0) vs Arkansas State (1-4)
- When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
- Where: Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro, Ark.
- Occasion: One of just two FBS games being played Thursday
- TV: ESPNU (and through www.espn.com/watch)
- TV talent: Mike Couzens (play by play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
- Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM, SiriusXM 137, XM 201
- Tickets: Are available through Ticketmaster, at the stadium box office on game day, by calling 843-347-8499 (TIXX), or through the tickets@coastal.edu email
- Weather: Temperatures during the game are forecast to be between 69 and 73 degrees with clear skies, winds less than 5 mph, and a negligible chance of rain
- Live stats: AStateStats.com.
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.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 6:50 AM.
