Sport Day Preview: App State at Coastal Carolina
CONWAY, S.C. — Coastal Carolina leads the Solar Belt’s East Division as the one crew with one convention loss.
App State is amongst a big group of East groups at 2-2 in league play, however the Mountaineers have not misplaced to a divisional foe that is eligible to seem within the Solar Belt Convention title sport.
Evidently, the App State-Coastal sport being performed Thursday night time on ESPN is a giant one.
Regardless of a 1-2 begin to Solar Belt play with losses to FBS newcomer James Madison (which is ineligible for postseason play) and West division opponent Texas State, App State (5-3, 2-2) controls its skill to characterize the East within the league’s championship sport. The components for achievement has no shortcuts, beginning with a direct must beat the first-place Chanticleers (7-1, 4-1).
An App State win at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., would depart each East crew with a minimum of two conferences losses and supply the Mountaineers with a doubtlessly essential head-to-head tiebreaker over Coastal. All 4 of App State’s video games in November are in opposition to postseason-eligible East Division groups.
“Our youngsters are locked in and centered,” App State head coach Shawn Clark mentioned. “They know it should be a giant soccer sport. We will sit right here and say it isn’t, that it is the subsequent sport, however it’s a massive soccer sport, and each week’s a giant sport within the Solar Belt. That is one thing we look ahead to.”
The Mountaineers maintain a 4-1 lead in Solar Belt matchups in opposition to Coastal Carolina, which trailed 23-21 with lower than three minutes left in its 2020 house win over App State. Final yr, App State overcame an early 14-0 deficit and kicked a tiebreaking discipline objective as time expired to assert a 30-27 victory that performed a key function in permitting the Mountaineers to seem within the Solar Belt title sport for the third time since its 2018 inception. Coastal is the one different crew to win the East Division, however the 2020 title sport was not contested.
Bouncing again from a 63-61 loss to open the season, even with the stats from that sport contributing to those totals, App State’s protection ranks within the high 20 nationally in compelled fumbles (tied for No. 2 with 13), passing yards allowed per sport (No. 15 at 179.4) and complete yards allowed per sport (No. 17 at 308.5).
Coastal Carolina misplaced some high-level ability place gamers from 2021, however the Chanticleers nonetheless possess a standout quarterback in Grayson McCall, who has 73 landing passes and solely seven interceptions in his profession. Passing for 257.6 yards per sport in 2022, he has thrown 19 landing passes and a single interception whereas finishing 68.8 p.c of his makes an attempt.
On the bottom, CJ Beasley and Reese White each common greater than 65 speeding yards per sport. Georgia State switch Sam Pinckney leads the crew with 45 catches for 628 yards, and speedy redshirt freshman Jared Brown already has 5 landing receptions of 50-plus yards in eight video games.
“(McCall) actually leads that offense,” Clark mentioned. “They will run the (Shotgun) Triple (Possibility), however he is additionally an important thrower. He does not get sufficient credit score for the way he throws the ball downfield and stretches the sector vertically. He is attending to his second and third progressions now and has actually developed as a quarterback within the passing sport.”
Coastal has used an opportunistic protection to rank second nationally in fumble recoveries (11), fifth nationally in turnovers compelled (19) and sixth nationally in turnover margin (plus-10 general, or plus-1.25 per sport). “Bandit” Josaiah Stewart presents issues because the Solar Belt’s Preseason Defensive Participant of the 12 months, and Jerrod Clark anchors the road as a 6-foot-4, 340-pound nostril deal with.
App State’s offense has began slowly during the last three video games, resulting in a mixed seven first-quarter factors in that 2-1 stretch, and that is a recipe for bother in opposition to a Coastal crew that has outscored its opponents 80-34 within the first quarter this season.
The Chanticleers have been outscored within the second and third quarters, however a 79-55 benefit in fourth-quarter scoring has helped them shut video games properly, as they erased fourth-quarter deficits in wins in opposition to Buffalo (38-26) and Georgia Southern (34-30). Coastal additionally has shut wins in opposition to the likes of Gardner-Webb (31-27) and ULM (28-21).
The Mountaineers are returning to the location of operating again Camerun Peoples’ two most efficient video games to this point. He rushed for 171 first-half yards and completed with 178 on a career-high 27 carries at Coastal Carolina in 2020, then set a faculty file with 317 speeding yards in Brooks Stadium throughout the 2020 Myrtle Seashore Bowl win in opposition to North Texas.
Peoples had a quiet afternoon final weekend in opposition to Robert Morris, however Nate Noel’s 157 yards on 20 carries during the last two video games have enabled followers to see the type of burst that had been lacking since a 116-yard season debut in opposition to North Carolina.
“We all know the schedule and know there are powerful video games on the docket,” Clark mentioned. “This week is about us taking part in clear soccer, having the ability to maintain some drives on offense and actually rally to the soccer on protection to get them off their mark.”
App State is amongst a big group of East groups at 2-2 in league play, however the Mountaineers have not misplaced to a divisional foe that is eligible to seem within the Solar Belt Convention title sport.
Evidently, the App State-Coastal sport being performed Thursday night time on ESPN is a giant one.
Regardless of a 1-2 begin to Solar Belt play with losses to FBS newcomer James Madison (which is ineligible for postseason play) and West division opponent Texas State, App State (5-3, 2-2) controls its skill to characterize the East within the league’s championship sport. The components for achievement has no shortcuts, beginning with a direct must beat the first-place Chanticleers (7-1, 4-1).
An App State win at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., would depart each East crew with a minimum of two conferences losses and supply the Mountaineers with a doubtlessly essential head-to-head tiebreaker over Coastal. All 4 of App State’s video games in November are in opposition to postseason-eligible East Division groups.
“Our youngsters are locked in and centered,” App State head coach Shawn Clark mentioned. “They know it should be a giant soccer sport. We will sit right here and say it isn’t, that it is the subsequent sport, however it’s a massive soccer sport, and each week’s a giant sport within the Solar Belt. That is one thing we look ahead to.”
The Mountaineers maintain a 4-1 lead in Solar Belt matchups in opposition to Coastal Carolina, which trailed 23-21 with lower than three minutes left in its 2020 house win over App State. Final yr, App State overcame an early 14-0 deficit and kicked a tiebreaking discipline objective as time expired to assert a 30-27 victory that performed a key function in permitting the Mountaineers to seem within the Solar Belt title sport for the third time since its 2018 inception. Coastal is the one different crew to win the East Division, however the 2020 title sport was not contested.
Bouncing again from a 63-61 loss to open the season, even with the stats from that sport contributing to those totals, App State’s protection ranks within the high 20 nationally in compelled fumbles (tied for No. 2 with 13), passing yards allowed per sport (No. 15 at 179.4) and complete yards allowed per sport (No. 17 at 308.5).
Coastal Carolina misplaced some high-level ability place gamers from 2021, however the Chanticleers nonetheless possess a standout quarterback in Grayson McCall, who has 73 landing passes and solely seven interceptions in his profession. Passing for 257.6 yards per sport in 2022, he has thrown 19 landing passes and a single interception whereas finishing 68.8 p.c of his makes an attempt.
On the bottom, CJ Beasley and Reese White each common greater than 65 speeding yards per sport. Georgia State switch Sam Pinckney leads the crew with 45 catches for 628 yards, and speedy redshirt freshman Jared Brown already has 5 landing receptions of 50-plus yards in eight video games.
“(McCall) actually leads that offense,” Clark mentioned. “They will run the (Shotgun) Triple (Possibility), however he is additionally an important thrower. He does not get sufficient credit score for the way he throws the ball downfield and stretches the sector vertically. He is attending to his second and third progressions now and has actually developed as a quarterback within the passing sport.”
Coastal has used an opportunistic protection to rank second nationally in fumble recoveries (11), fifth nationally in turnovers compelled (19) and sixth nationally in turnover margin (plus-10 general, or plus-1.25 per sport). “Bandit” Josaiah Stewart presents issues because the Solar Belt’s Preseason Defensive Participant of the 12 months, and Jerrod Clark anchors the road as a 6-foot-4, 340-pound nostril deal with.
App State’s offense has began slowly during the last three video games, resulting in a mixed seven first-quarter factors in that 2-1 stretch, and that is a recipe for bother in opposition to a Coastal crew that has outscored its opponents 80-34 within the first quarter this season.
The Chanticleers have been outscored within the second and third quarters, however a 79-55 benefit in fourth-quarter scoring has helped them shut video games properly, as they erased fourth-quarter deficits in wins in opposition to Buffalo (38-26) and Georgia Southern (34-30). Coastal additionally has shut wins in opposition to the likes of Gardner-Webb (31-27) and ULM (28-21).
The Mountaineers are returning to the location of operating again Camerun Peoples’ two most efficient video games to this point. He rushed for 171 first-half yards and completed with 178 on a career-high 27 carries at Coastal Carolina in 2020, then set a faculty file with 317 speeding yards in Brooks Stadium throughout the 2020 Myrtle Seashore Bowl win in opposition to North Texas.
Peoples had a quiet afternoon final weekend in opposition to Robert Morris, however Nate Noel’s 157 yards on 20 carries during the last two video games have enabled followers to see the type of burst that had been lacking since a 116-yard season debut in opposition to North Carolina.
“We all know the schedule and know there are powerful video games on the docket,” Clark mentioned. “This week is about us taking part in clear soccer, having the ability to maintain some drives on offense and actually rally to the soccer on protection to get them off their mark.”
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