With Grayson McCall back at the helm, here’s how Coastal Carolina handled Texas State
Grayson McCall returned to Coastal Carolina’s lineup in spectacular fashion.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback threw for a career-high and program record-tying five touchdowns while completing 22 of 28 passes for 319 yards after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury.
He added 53 yards on 12 carries — sliding feet-first on most rushes to avoid hits — and he didn’t throw an interception and was sacked once to lead Coastal to a 35-21 win over Texas State at Brooks Stadium. The Chants (9-2) improved to 5-2 in the Sun Belt Conference while Texas State (3-8) fell to 2-5 in the conference.
McCall said he nearly played in last week’s 42-40 loss to Georgia State but the coaches and training staff decided to hold him out another week to protect his long-term future.
“I was super excited all week to get the opportunity to go back out there, especially Senior Day, being able to play with these guys,” McCall said. “Our training staff did a great job all week and the past weeks to try to get me ready and I worked hard to get to this point so I was just really thankful I got out there and got to go play this last one at Brooks with these seniors today.”
McCall came out firing, completing his first nine pass attempts for 109 yards and a touchdown. He finished the first half 16 of 20 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, with 38 yards rushing on nine carries.
“I think sometimes you take him for granted a little bit, like how good he is and the things that he does,” CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said. “. . . I think people in this league and I think people probably nationally don’t realize how good he is and how good he makes us.”
Helping hands on offense
McCall benefited from a pair of great touchdown catches.
Kameron Brown made a 19-yard TD catch near the right sideline in the end zone to open the scoring in the first half, reaching while running toward the sideline and managing to keep a foot inbounds.
Tight end Isaiah Likely added a 21-yard TD catch down the right sideline in one-on-one coverage. McCall lofted a pass to the goal line and Likely jumped and reached over the defender for the reception.
Jaivon Heiligh surpassed 100 yards receiving for the sixth time this season and 11th time for his career with 10 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown, Brown had four receptions for 90 yards and two scores, and Likely had five receptions for 62 yards and a TD. Shermari Jones added 92 yards on 23 carries.
McCall’s left (non-throwing) hand was stepped on during the second scoring drive of the third quarter and Bryce Carpenter replaced him for one drive that ended in a punt. McCall returned to throw his fifth TD of the game on a 39-yard throw to Tyson Mobley over the defense down the middle of the field.
“I’ve got great players around me so they allow me to relax, so I try to get the ball in their hands and let them do their magic,” McCall said. “Having all those guys around me is truly a blessing.”
The Chants held Texas State to 301 yards of offense on 59 plays while amassing 498 themselves and holding the ball for more than 35 minutes. Linebacker Silas Kelly recorded double-digit tackles for the second straight game with 11, and the Chants registered seven tackles for loss.
You don’t see that defense every day
Coastal allowed two of the most unlikely and egregious touchdowns you’ll see in a college football game in a span of 5:12 of game time.
Texas State was resigned to taking a seven-point deficit into halftime with a run up the middle on a third-and-5 on its own 46 on the final play of the second half.
But Calvin Hill was never tackled.
He broke to the right after getting through a muddled interior of the line and outraced CCU defenders to the right pylon with no time remaining on the clock for a 54-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14.
The Chants were holding Texas State to 112 yards of offense on 23 plays before the unlikely touchdown run.
After CCU scored early in the third quarter to take a 21-14 lead, Texas State QB Tyler Vitt was hit as he attempted a deep pass down the middle that was thrown right to CCU defensive back Lance Boykin. But Boykin bobbled the ball right into the arms of a passing Marcell Barbee at the 2 for a 38-yd TD catch that tied the score again.
But CCU outscored Texas State 14-0 from there.
“I was pleased the way we finished and our confidence never wavered, and I think that just shows you they believe in themselves,” Chadwell said.
Brooks Stadium for the final time
Twenty-eight CCU players participated in pregame senior day activities and were recognized on the field prior to the game.
“For this group of seniors to win their last one at Brooks here, that was our whole focus for those guys, was playing for each other, playing to go out on a big win here, so I was very pleased with that,” Chadwell said.
They all helped CCU rise from a fledgling FBS program that was 3-9 in 2017 to a team that was ranked in the top 25 in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll for 22 consecutive releases of the polls prior to this week.
Thirteen players returned this year for their sixth year of eligibility that was allowed by the NCAA because of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the 2020 season.
“It’s been crazy. It’s been a lot of ups and down, so a shout out to all the guys for just sticking through it, seeing it through and trusting the process,” super senior defensive lineman C.J. Brewer said. “It got hard at one point being here but that’s part of it. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just a blessing being here and going through those ups and downs, I feel that really helped me personally prepare me for life because there are always going to be ups and downs through life no matter what you’re doing.”
Up next
Coastal Carolina will finish the regular season at South Alabama next Friday, with a 3:30 (Eastern) kickoff after the Chants enjoy Thanksgiving on the road in Mobile, Alabama, following a team holiday meal Wednesday night.
South Alabama (5-6) began the season 3-0 but is 2-6 since after falling 60-14 at Tennessee on Saturday night, and needs to defeat the Chants to become bowl eligible.
“So they’re going to be pumped. They’re going to be coming after us,” Chadwell said. “Any time you’ve got a short turnaround it’s better for the team with the home game than away.”
The Jaguars were saddled with a tough finish to the season, closing with App State (31-7 loss), Tennessee (60-14) and CCU. They could easily have a winning record. Two of their conference losses are by two points and four are by 10 points or less.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 4:19 PM.
