Gameday Guide: Coastal Carolina at South Alabama preview, streaming, odds, tickets
Coastal Carolina is trying to get to double-digit wins for the second consecutive season, while South Alabama is trying to become bowl eligible in the regular season finale for both teams.
CCU, Appalachian State, Louisiana and Georgia State are the four Sun Belt Conference teams that are already bowl eligible and South Alabama and Troy can get there with their sixth wins this weekend.
The opponent: South Alabama Jaguars
First-year South Alabama coach Kane Wommack said senior linebacker Chris Henderson is the only current Jaguar who has competed in a bowl game. “The fun thing and the awesome opportunity for us in year one is to be competing for a bowl game here in this last game, and that’s really special,” said Wommack, who spent three years from 2018-20 as Indiana’s defensive coordinator.
South Alabama (5-6) began the season 3-0 but is 2-6 since after falling 60-14 at Tennessee on Saturday night.
The Jaguars were saddled with a tough finish to the season, closing with App State (31-7 loss), Tennessee (60-14) and CCU. They have lost three straight, all on the road, where they are 1-5 this season. They could easily have a winning record. Two of their conference losses are by two points and four are by 10 points or less.
Former South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley transferred to South Alabama this season and is one of nine QBs in the country with a completion rate better than 70%, but he suffered a partially torn MCL in his left knee in the ninth game of the season, has missed the past two games and is not listed on the Jaguars’ two-deep depth chart this week.
Junior Desmond Trotter (6-3, 215), who has started 16 games at South Alabama, has started the past two games, completing 61 of 104 passes (58.7 %) for 596 yards with five TDs and three interceptions.
“We are very fortunate to have Desmond to step in because he has been a starting quarterback here before,” Wommack said. “. . . Even though he had to walk out onto the field cold turkey nine games into the season he really has gotten better every single game, even against Tennessee. So I think he’s doing some really good things.”
Bentley and Trotter have as a target the top-producing wide receiver in the Sun Belt in Jalen Tolbert, who has a league-leading 72 catches for 1,283 yards and seven touchdowns. Receiver Jalen Wayne is also a threat on the other side with 44 receptions for 519 yards and two scores.
“[Tolbert] is pretty damn good. He just continues to make plays regardless of who we play,” Wommack said. “He had a big 70-yard touchdown against Tennessee this past week. His ability to make one-on-one contested catches and to create yards after contact and separate from people is really special.”
The Jaguars are 4-1 at home with wins over Southern Miss (31-7), Alcorn State (28-21), Georgia Southern (41-14) and Arkansas State (31-13). The lone loss at home came to AP No. 23 Louisiana, 20-18 on Oct. 2.
South Alabama’s offense ranks outside the top 90 in FBS, but the Jags have been solid on defense most of the season, allowing 26.4 points and 342.3 yards per game, which is 35th in the country and includes 561 yards surrendered to Tennessee last week.
“We certainly want to get some of the taste out of our mouths of not executing against Tennessee,” Wommack said. “The tempo of their offense and the speed of their receivers on the outside was just something we could not match and we just could not stop them.... I think our guys are highly motivated to respond this week.”
South Alabama has been opportunistic on defense with 14 interceptions, which is tied for ninth in the country — four by Darrell Luter Jr. and three by Tre Young — and eight fumble recoveries for 22 turnovers that have directly led to 68 points.
“They have a really good defensive line and their cornerback play is really good,” CCU receiver Kameron Brown said. “These are probably one of the best group of corners we’re going to see this year. They’re physical, they’re going to get in your face and press.”
Coastal Carolina team notes
The Chants, who were scheduled to have a team holiday meal Wednesday before enjoying Thanksgiving in Mobile on Thursday, hope to get to 10 wins and will then await their bowl invitation while Louisiana and App State play for the conference championship next week.
“Our goal was the conference championship, but not everything falls in your favor sometimes, it’s part of life,” CCU senior defensive lineman C.J. Brewer said. “We were upset, but it’s part of it. So now it’s our goal to get to 10 wins and just go out these next two games with a bang, come out with two victories and keep working. Our goal was to set the foundation for this program, how we want it when we’re gone, so that’s part of it.”
▪ Brewer is one of 28 Chants who will likely be suited up for their final regular season college game. “Our time is about up here. . . . We just have to put the work in and just enjoy these last few moments together before it’s all over.”
▪ CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said Reese White, who has 516 yards rushing and seven touchdown in eight games, will miss his fourth consecutive game with an ankle injury but hasn’t been ruled out for CCU’s bowl game. Backup tight end Xavier Gravette did not play Saturday and will be a game-time decision, Chadwell said, and backup offensive lineman Donnell Wilson will miss his second straight game after being injured in practice last week.
▪ CCU’s last visit to Mobile in 2018 was also a regular season finale with the Chants needing a win to become bowl eligible for the first time. The Chants fell by three points to finish 5-7. “I remember walking off the field and just taking a knee and just looking, thinking we missed a great opportunity,” CCU senior outside linebacker Jeffrey Gunter said. “So this game means a lot to me personally because the last time I was on that field I was almost in tears, so I think it’s time to get a little revenge.”
▪ Coastal’s offense is averaging 7.7 yards per play, which is second in FBS to Ohio State and the highest average in CCU single-season history. The Chants have also protected the ball, committing just seven turnovers this season, which is tied for the second fewest in the nation and is second only to Toledo’s six.
▪ Senior tight end Isaiah Likely has received an invitation to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, which will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2:30 p.m. in Mobile. Likely was one of eight semifinalists for the 2021 John Mackey Award and has 49 catches for 795 yards and a team-high 10 touchdown catches. He is just the fourth CCU player to receive a Senior Bowl invitation, joining Josh Norman (2012), Lorenzo Taliaferro (2014) and Tarron Jackson (2021), who have all played in the NFL.
Likely has also been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl. Other Chants seniors receiving all-star game invitations are receiver Jaivon Heiligh to the East-West, Hula Bowl and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl; Gunter to the Collegiate Bowl and East-West; running back Shermari Jones to the Collegiate Bowl; and Brewer, linebackers Silas Kelly and Teddy Gallagher, and cornerback D’Jordan Strong to the Hula Bowl.
▪ Strong, however, has announced he will return for a third year at CCU after transferring from a junior college prior to the 2020 season. He has a team-leading 10 pass break-ups and 19 tackles this season after being among the national leaders with five interceptions last year.
▪ Coastal is playing in its sixth non-Saturday game of the season and is 4-1 in those games, with a Wednesday night loss at App State.
Last meeting: Chanticleers vs Jaguars
CCU won 23-6 on Nov. 7, 2020 in Conway, SC. (CCU is 1-1 vs. South Alabama all-time with a 31-28 loss in 2018).
Coastal vs. South Alabama betting line
Coastal Carolina is favored by 15 points. The over/under is set at 56 points.
Score prediction
Coastal Carolina 34, South Alabama 27: The Jaguars will fight for their postseason lives but the Chanticleers should be able to hold them off to finish the regular season with a two-game winning streak.
Coastal Carolina at South Alabama Friday: Watch, listen
- Who: Coastal Carolina (9-2, 5-2) at South Alabama (5-6, 2-5)
- When: 3:30 p.m. (Eastern) Friday
- Where: Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
- Occasion: Regular season finale
- Streaming: ESPN+ through www.espn.com/watch
- TV talent: J.D. Byars (play by play), Pat Greenwood (analyst)
- Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM
Tickets: Are available at the stadium box office on game day or by calling 843-347-8499 (TIXX), or through the tickets@coastal.edu email
- Weather: Temperatures are forecast to be between the mid-40s and mid-50s with a very minimal chance of rain and winds at approximately 6-10 mph, according to weather.com.
- Live stats: Through
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 November 26, 2021 at 6:58 AM.
