Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Lamar

Last meeting

Inaugural matchup.

Coastal Carolina

Strength: Lots of firepower at key positions.

Weakness: Inexperience at quarterback.

Lamar

Strength: Running game bolstered by strong offensive line.

Weakness: Inexperience at wide receiver.

Key matchup

CCU’s DeAngelo Henderson vs. Lamar’s Kade Harrington: The story in this one is the battle of the running backs, who were both in the running for the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year award last season. Both were named to the 2016 STATS National Offensive Player of the Year Award watch list as well. Henderson, the Chanticleers’ all-time rushing leader (3,479 yards), and Harrington – a junior who has racked up 1,660 yards and 19 touchdowns in 21 games (16 starts) in his first two years – should provide plenty of excitement Saturday.

Players to watch

Coastal Carolina

Sophomore quarterback Josh Stilley: In his first-ever collegiate start, expect Stilley to come out guns blazing. “We’re going to throw the ball and run the ball just as much as we have in the past,” Stilley said. “That might change in-game, seeing what’s working more. But as of right now, we’re just going to play Coastal offense as usual.”

Senior defensive end Marcus Williamson: Named a starter after playing behind senior standouts Roderick Holder and Calvin Hollenhorst last season, Williamson expects to have a standout season. Despite limited playing time last season, Williamson made the most of his time as he led the team in quarterback hurries (6), and set a program and tied a Big South single-season record for blocked kicks with four.

Senior wide receiver Bruce Mapp: A First Team All-Big South receiver last season, and Second Team All-Big South the year before. An explosive athlete, Mapp once caught 10 passes in a game as a sophomore, which tied a program record. While that feat can’t be expected to be repeated Saturday, Mapp could be poised for a huge day.

Lamar

Harrington: An elite back, Harrington became just the seventh player in the history of Division I football to reach the 2,000-yard mark last season to join the likes of Barry Sanders and Marcus Allen on the list. Harrington led the way as Lamar finished top 10 in rushing as a program, averaging nearly 270 yards per game. Harrington was first in the country in rushing, all-purpose yards and rushing touchdowns, so expect the 5-foot-9, 190 pound back to continue making noise.

Junior offensive lineman Bret Treadway: Named to the College Sports Madness Preseason All-America team, Treadway has tremendously helped protect Harrington, who took apart nearly every defense he’s seen, and bolstered one of the top offensive lines in the country. The Lamar offensive front led the nation in pass protection and surrendered fewer than 0.5 sacks per game in 2015.

He said it

“There’s the quality of [Harrington], we feel pretty good about [Henderson]. But we’ll find out Saturday night who is the better running back.” – Coastal Carolina head coach Joe Moglia

Scouting report

“When you look at Lamar, I think they’ve got a lot of guys back from last year. I think last year they had one of the better offenses in the country, they use that spread offense and do a lot of run-pass-option stuff, similar to the stuff we do. And they’re really very good at it. Their running back has good speed, good acceleration, he’s got good vision and is able to see the hole open and he’s very, very good when he cuts behind the center and they have a lineman (Treadway) that is a preseason All-American. They can pass the ball, but their strength is a little more – use the pass as play action off the running game and they’re very effective with their running game.” – Moglia

“From a defensive perspective, they also have a new defensive coordinator. They’re optimistic that their defense is going to be much improved. Their defense did not have a great season a year ago, but – again – they do expect their defense to have a pretty good year this year.” – Moglia

Notes

▪ Coastal Carolina true freshman Avery McCall – a Dillon High School product – is second on the depth chart at quarterback as he sits behind Stilley to open the season. Redshirt freshman Chance Thrasher was in the running to be the starter, but was hampered by a shoulder injury sustained in practice and was unable to further compete for the job.

▪ Chants starting safety C.J. Thompson came up lame, grabbing his hamstring during practice last week and has sit out since. Moglia doesn’t expect him to start, but there’s a possibility he could still play. Also injured is reserve linebacker

Prediction

Coastal Carolina 37, Lamar 28. With two very explosive offensive weapons in Henderson and Harrington – this one may be pretty high-scoring, but it’s likely the Chanticleers pull it out.

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Everything you need to know for Coastal Carolina vs. Lamar."