Familiar Coastal Carolina errors cost them vs. Marshall. Will it cost them the postseason?
It was a game Coastal Carolina could’ve won, and had the opportunity to win — but didn’t.
The CCU Chanticleers (5-5) lost to the Marshall University (7-3) Thundering Herd 31-19 at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia.
A series of frustrations caused the loss during a game in which CCU stayed competitive. Dropped touchdowns obscured good throws, and other mistakes curtailed a strong start.
Quarterback Ethan Vasko played well and found players down the field, including a nearly 50-yard touchdown to Jameson Tucker in the fourth quarter. However, CCU sealed its fate on a fourth-quarter play that summed up its problems throughout the game.
With fewer than 12 minutes remaining in the game, Vasko looked to throw. He faced pressure all game in the pocket, and Marshall defensive lineman Mike Green drilled the Chant after fooling CCU left tackle Nick Del Grande with a spin move.
Vasko fumbled, and the Thundering Herd scooped up the ball and stampeded to the CCU 2-yard line, scoring on the ensuing drive.
Down 21, the deficit proved too big for Coastal. The result was familiar: Coastal lost a close, competitive game because it couldn’t overcome costly mistakes.
Head Coach Tim Beck said after the game that he was “very disappointed” with his team’s performance, adding that their good efforts were overshadowed.
“At the end of the day, we got to make some plays, and fortunately, we didn’t,” Beck concluded.
The loss leaves CCU’s postseason hopes in jeopardy and serves as the latest reminder of problems that have cost the Chants several winnable games in the past two seasons.
Turnovers, penalites and dropped passes
The Chants displayed several problems that have consistently affected them during the Tim Beck era.
Poor special teams execution by CCU led to a blocked field goal that the Thundering Herd took back for a momentum-draining touchdown after Tucker dropped a deep pass from Vasko in the end zone. In the fourth quarter, Senika McKie and Tucker dropped potential touchdown passes in the end zone.
Vasko said after the game that drops happen and the offense is trying to keep its confidence.
“They don’t want to drop the ball whenever I throw that pass, I don’t want to throw a bad pass. I mean, it happened,” Vasko said. “I have all the confidence in the world in them, and we’ll connect.”
Asked if his throws or receivers’ mistakes were causing the drops, Vasko replied, “No comment on that.”
Drops weren’t the only concern, though. Inopportune turnovers like a Braydon Bennett dropped option toss from Vasko led to a Marshall touchdown on the ensuing drive. Meanwhile, CCU’s offense couldn’t finish drives from the red zone, as two fourth-quarter trips resulted in no points.
CCU didn’t help its cause when its defense couldn’t stop the Thundering Herd from converting a fourth-and-17 that would’ve negated Coastal’s earlier blunder.
Beck said after the game he thought the mistakes were inadvertent and sometimes due to a brief lack of attention.
“I don’t think they’re meaning to do it,” Beck said. “I don’t think that’s happening.”
Indeed, Marshall’s two first-half touchdowns came from CCU turnovers, as Coastal penalties prolonged Thundering Herd drives and curtailed its own. CCU players and coaches frequently argued or voiced their displeasure with the officials for penalties called, but the protestations didn’t change any minds or the deployment of yellow flags.
Beck has previously argued with referees during games, but controversial flags don’t explain why CCU fell behind in a winnable game. Beck said after the game he was trying to get feedback from officials throughout the game. He added that he felt referees missed several calls and questioned the lack of holding calls Coastal Carolina received.
“I don’t think they got one holding call. We had three,” Beck said. “So I asked (the officials) how much it cost to get one.”
Beck added the referees didn’t reply to his question.
The Chants’ problems also curtailed the early momentum they built by scoring on their opening drive, as starting slow had burned Coastal during its 1-4 stretch that began in the Chants’ loss to the University of Virginia.
Will CCU’s mistakes cost it a trip to the postseason?
The concerns that cost CCU against Marshall aren’t new. Coastal’s dealt with them since the Beck era began.
CCU coaches discussed trying to fix these problems at length entering the season. Beck previously said he doesn’t know why issues such as persistent drops by CCU receivers keep happening, but they do.
Marshall entered as the better-ranked team, but proved ineffective on offense for much of the game unless helped by Coastal Carolina errors. The Herd didn’t make as many mistakes as the Chants, although it wasn’t for lack of trying.
Marshall couldn’t recover a fourth-quarter onside kick, and an errant long snap resulted in a fourth- quarter safety for CCU. The late mistakes didn’t prove enough for the Chants to complete the comeback.
With two games left to become bowl eligible, the Chants will have to contend with containing these errors so they don’t jeopardize a fifth consecutive trip to postseason play.
Injuries slowly sapped the strength of CCU’s defense. Aside from defensive linemen Emmanuel Johnson and Will Whitson missing the remainder of the season, starting linebackers Wyatt Gedeon and Shane Bruce left the game with injuries. Meanwhile, right tackle Zovan Lindsay also left the game with an apparent back injury.
CCU’s next game won’t provide an easy opportunity for postseason entry.
The Chants will return to Conway for their final home game of the 2024 season, against Georgia Southern at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 23. The Eagles beat Coastal, 38-28, in Statesboro, Georgia, in 2023, as then-CCU quarterback Grayson McCall threw four interceptions.
Georgia Southern ranks No. 1 in the Sun Belt Conference East Division standings.
This story was originally published November 16, 2024 at 4:59 PM.
