Chanticleers look to defend No. 1 ranking on trip to S.C. State

For as much as Coastal Carolina football coach Joe Moglia is not one to draw attention to national rankings and such things, he did allow a moment of recognition for his coaches and players this week as the Chanticleers moved to No. 1 in the FCS Coaches poll for the second time in two years.

Moglia delivered the same message to his team that he would reiterate to the media and fans this week.

“I said this to the staff on Monday and I said this to the team [Tuesday],” Moglia repeated during his weekly news conference. “… There are 70,000 college athletes who play football in this country. There are probably 10,000 or so coaches. Ninety-nine percent of them will never have a chance, ever in their entire careers at the college level … to be able to say they were a part of a nationally No. 1 ranked team. Ever. We’ve had a chance to say that twice, so I’m proud of that.”

With a 38-35 season-opening win last weekend at Furman and all four teams ahead of Coastal Carolina in the national polls losing in the opening week (three against FBS-level teams), the Chants’ national championship quest gained an early boost.

But it was the second part of Moglia’s message he wanted the Chants most focused on as they play South Carolina State on Saturday night in Orangeburg.

“But,” he continued on the rankings, “we know that doesn’t mean anything else and it only enhances the idea that people are going to come after you anyway. We can’t worry about that. We know our job is South Carolina State.”

The Chants (1-0) and Bulldogs (1-0) meet for the fifth time with Coastal Carolina holding a 4-0 edge all time.

While the Chants rolled to a dominant 30-3 win at home last year, though, there is reason to think this could be a closer contest as the series moves back to Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

The Bulldogs opened their season last weekend with a 35-7 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge.

The outcome wasn’t unexpected given the competition, but the way the South Carolina State defense dominated the game – holding Arkansas Pine-Bluff to 191 offensive yards and 1-of-18 on third-down conversions – should have the Chants taking notice.

The Bulldogs are led by 6-foot-2, 295-pound senior defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who was named the STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Week after tallying 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in the opener, and who had 10 total tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks last year against Coastal Carolina.

Now he’s going up against a rebuilt Chants offensive line with three new starters this fall. That unit was solid in the opener, yielding only one sack and helping the offense move the ball consistently enough, but the challenge will be different Saturday night.

“They’re not afraid to come after you. They’re not afraid to play man so they’ll get up and challenge us a little bit more than Furman did,” Chants offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said. “Furman was more of a softer zone coverage. These guys will get more up on you and challenge you more.”

Senior quarterback Alex Ross complimented the Bulldogs’ defensive playmakers, but he emphasized that as always it’s more about what the Chants do on their end.

“We’re not going to do anything different,” he said. “We’re going to stick to the plays that we run and we’re going to do the same things that have allowed us to be successful over the years. They’re very fast, they’re very athletic on the edge and up front they have some guys who can rush the passer.

“We need to focus on what we can do. I know a lot of teams say that, but it’s the truth. We need to focus on our offense, on running our plays and making the reads and everything is going to be fine.”

Defensively, the Chants will look to improve after giving up 525 yards to Furman. They face a South Carolina State offense that should have its top rusher Jalen Simmons (1,082 yards, nine touchdowns in 2014) back after a one-week suspension stemming from an incident last season against Norfolk State, but the Bulldogs were lackluster in the passing game a week ago while using two quarterbacks.

Junior Adrian Kollock Jr., who completed 15-of-26 passes for 227 yards last year against Coastal Carolina, threw two interceptions in the opener and true freshman Caleb York ended up with more passing attempts while finishing 11-of-20 for 123 yards.

“They’re pretty balanced running and throwing the ball,” Moglia said. “They’ve got two quarterbacks. Both them will run the ball and run effectively. I think the younger kid is probably a little better passer, but he’s inexperienced because he’s only a freshman. But both are good athletes. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Overall, after finishing 8-4 last season South Carolina State is already receiving votes in the national FCS polls after its strong week one performance and is a capable challenger for the Chants.

“They had their way with [Arkansas-Pine Bluff]. They dominated offensively, they dominated defensively ... They’re a solid college football team,” Moglia said.

But the Chants have consistently taken care of business in games they are favored to win and haven’t lost a regular-season FCS non-conference game since Moglia’s first year in 2012.

That’s largely due to the steady focus Moglia has instilled in his team, and with the No. 1 ranking once again attached to the Chants, he doesn’t expect that to change.

“For us we really don’t focus on that,” senior defensive tackle Leroy Cummings said, reiterating the company line. “We just focus on every game step by step.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 9:08 PM with the headline "Chanticleers look to defend No. 1 ranking on trip to S.C. State."