Bryant brings stout defense into matchup with Chanticleers

Coastal Carolina’s opponent this week isn’t a household name for casual football fans, but coach Joe Moglia used a good chunk of his weekly media session to make the case for why the No. 1/2-ranked Chanticleers might just have their hands full Saturday night with Bryant.

Moglia rattled off the visiting Bulldogs’ rankings in various FCS defensive categories, noting that they are tops in the country in turnover margin, third in scoring defense (giving up just 9.5 points per game) and fourth in red zone defense to name a few.

“They are a good football team,” Moglia said. “They don’t play in the type of league that we play in, but outside that league they play tough teams and they hold up very, very well against them. So we’re taking this game very, very seriously. We know they’re going to come down ready to play.

“Because they’ve beaten Maine on the road, because they’ve beaten [Stony Brook] on the road, because they really gave Liberty in that type of environment a really good game a year ago, they believe they can come down here and beat us.”

The Chants, meanwhile, will simply be looking to maintain the status quo. While they have already been challenged twice this season, including overcoming four deficits last week to edge Western Illinois, they nevertheless keep rolling along and have now won 16-straight regular-season FCS non-conference games.

Expecting another near-capacity crowd inside Brooks Stadium, Coastal Carolina (3-0) will try to extend that streak against a Bryant team off to a 2-0 start this fall and coming off its best season since joining the FCS.

The Bulldogs’ 8-3 finish last season included a tough road win over an always stout Stony Brook team and a home victory over Maine, which had a down season but was in the FCS playoffs the year before.

So far this fall, Bryant – which is located in Rhode Island and plays in the Northeast Conference – has rolled over a Division II American International team and edged out a 20-16 win over Brown.

That’s the game that will no doubt have the Chants’ attention as the Bulldogs forced five turnovers in that win, including two interceptions in the end zone and two fumble recoveries inside their own 10-yard line.

“Bryant’s a tough football team,” Moglia said. “... They do a good job of just getting to the ball. I think they’re very sound. They mix up their pressures, showing some zone stuff, some of the man stuff. They’ll play three-deep, they’ll play man-free, they’ll [apply] some pressure, but what they do is they execute well.”

But Bryant, which has never played a team ranked higher than No. 17 in the FCS national polls, hasn’t faced a challenge like the one that awaits Saturday night.

Ranked atop the FCS Coaches Poll for the third week in a row, Coastal Carolina has been as proficient as expected on offense through three games, ranking 15th in the FCS in scoring at 37.7 points per game and 18th in total offense at 447.7 yards per game.

And while Bryant’s defense no doubt had a big influence in its win over Brown, the Bulldogs also gave up 403 passing yards in that game.

Regardless, Coastal Carolina senior quarterback Alex Ross echoed his coach’s evaluation of the Bulldogs.

“They’re scrappers. They go to the whistle and they’re definitely that team that’s going to come in and give you their best shot,” he said.

The Chants are used to that, of course.

Shaking off four deficits last Saturday for a 34-27 win over Western Illinois was Coastal Carolina’s second tight test of the young season.

And showing that this Chants team, like the incarnations before it, has a knack for pulling out the close ones has only added to the squad’s collective confidence and readiness for the next such challenge – should it come Saturday night or later in the season.

“Playing games like that always [shows] what kind of team you have,” junior left tackle Voghens Larrieux said. “... For us to pull out those fourth quarter wins and play those games is very helpful to our team.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 8:26 PM with the headline "Bryant brings stout defense into matchup with Chanticleers."