CCU avoided a Temple comeback, but concerns emerged. What will their impact be?
Coastal Carolina’s trip to Philadelphia proved more stressful than anticipated.
The CCU Chanticleers (3-0) bested the Temple Owls (0-3) 28-20 before a mostly empty Lincoln Financial Field.
The game came down to a 4th and 14, where Temple quarterback Evan Simon threw the ball out of bounds instead of hitting his intended receiver, and CCU celebrated the victory.
After the game, Coastal Carolina head coach Tim Beck said he was happy with his team’s performance, especially the defense’s performance on the final drive.
“At the end of the day, it’s a W,” Beck said. “The way they fought to go on the road and win and not always play your best ball and play a team that’s desperate.”
Theoretically, the game shouldn’t have ended with a late fourth-down conversion attempt. Temple was winless entering the game, losing its first two contests by a minimum of 27 points and ranked the worst rushing offense in the American Athletic Conference.
Conversely, Coastal traveled to the City of Brotherly Love, having dispatched Jacksonville State and William & Mary in dominant contests.
As they had done previously, Coastal quickly jumped out to a commanding 21-3 lead against the Owls midway through the second quarter. Like their first-half performances of the first two weeks of the 2024 season, CCU again dominated the opening stanza and seemed well on its way to another comfortable victory.
Run, run and run some more
The Coastal Carolina offense ran the ball repeatedly, trying to impose its will on Temple. Coastal ran on 10 out of 11 plays on its first drive, a drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Chants controlled the ball in the first quarter for more than 11 minutes. By the end of the first half, the Chants had already racked up 107 yards on the ground with running back Christian Washington and quarterback Ethan Vasko taking the bulk of the carries.
Meanwhile, the Coastal Carolina defense started strong and secured a pick-six, making it the third straight game the Chants have generated a defensive touchdown. The defense also forced a fumble at the Temple 5-yard line, setting up Vasko’s touchdown throw to Cameron Wright.
Neither Ja’Vin Simpkins nor Braydon Bennett took a snap against Temple, but the Chants managed without them. With 184 yards on 42 carries, the Chants proved they could still run the football, although Temple’s front proved more effective than Coastal’s other opponents.
Vasko led the way on the ground, finishing the game with 92 yards on 16 carries.
Whether quarterback-designed runs, option plays or scrambling to avoid pressure, Vasko relied on his legs frequently. Vasko’s commitment to running has been instrumental to the Chants’ success, as he’s second on the team in carries and yards, although the number of hits the redshirt sophomore is taking is racking up in equal amount and is a consideration as the season progresses.
The Chants have prioritized running the ball this year, and the move has paid off so far. Beck added he’s hesitant to stop running the ball since it’s working.
“You’ve got to be careful of getting away from it too fast, too early,” he said. “We can’t get impatient. We can’t assume that people are always going to be able to control that or stop that.”
The passing game, which struggled at times against William & Mary, proved more efficient on Saturday. Vasko completed 15 of 21 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Typically, Vasko looked to the short passing game and yards after catch for success, and CCU’s receivers obliged by finding open space.
But Coastal, which in 2023 balanced its diet of short throws with an assortment of long-range ones, has occasionally struggled to maintain that balance in 2024. Besides the Jacksonville State game, Vasko’s deep passes to CCU’s quick receivers haven’t connected regularly, and against Temple, the connection again seemed off.
It wasn’t for lack of trying. Vasko looked to Tray Taylor twice in the second quarter — who emerged as one of CCU’s deep-threat options. The first attempt was underthrown and nearly intercepted, and Vasko overthrew Taylor on the second try.
“The first one, I thought Ethan held onto it too long,” Beck said. “The second one, he just overthrew it, and I think part of that came because I grabbed him on the sideline (and said) ‘Boy, you gotta get back there, 1-2-3, and let it rip.’ So he went back there and let it rip and had no concern where the receiver was. He just ripped it. So there’s got to be that happy medium.”
CCU keeps letting games get close
The Chants have spent the entire 2024 season in the lead. Coastal’s average margin of victory for its first three games is 15 points.
The trip to Philadelphia served as Coastal’s closest contest this season, but it indicates an ongoing trend worth watching as the season continues.
Coastal seems to pounce on its opponent quickly, landing several haymakers early, leaving the Chants’ opponents reeling and playing from behind.
All three of Coastal’s foes this season proved unable to address these early leads, but they also benefited from Coastal’s offense losing steam as the game continued.
In Coastal’s first three games, Coasta has surrendered 27 first-half points and 41 in the second half. Excluding defensive touchdowns, Coastal scored 65 points in the first half of its first three games, while getting 37 in the second half.
The Chants’ offense decelerating as the game goes on is partially by design.
Beck said in a routine mid-week press conference before the Temple game, he will “put the clamps on a lot of things” in the offense if the Chants are out in front by a considerable amount.
Beck’s rationale is simple: He’s saving plays so that Coastal’s future opponents have less information, especially the Chants’ rivals in the Sun Belt Conference.
While conservative, Beck’s trust in a bend-but-don’t-break defense to carry the day has proved successful in his tenure. Against Temple, the defense generated pressure to stall the Owls’ final drive and kept them to less than 4 yards per carry in the game.
However, with Coastal seemingly ascendant in the SBC again, letting games get close could spell trouble.
A cavalier approach might make that smooth ride bumpy for the Chants in one week, though.
The Chants return home to Conway, S.C., for a game next week against the University of Virginia — Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, at 2 p.m. UVA is currently 2-0.
The game will appear on ESPN+.
This story was originally published September 14, 2024 at 5:13 PM.
