Texas State vs. Coastal Carolina Preview

Kickoff: October 28th, 6:00 pm EST

Location: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC

Watch: ESPN3

Radio: AM1300/AM930/89.9 FM

Series Record: 0-0

Betting Line: Coastal Carolina -8, 53 _O/U

Last Meeting: First Meeting

After a great effort by Coastal Carolina in a 37-29 loss to Appalachian State last week the Chanticleers host the Texas State Bobcats who have had the past two weekends off. Both teams garner a 1-6 record and the ‘Cats and Chanticleers have not won since their September 2nd season openers.

Texas State Outlook

It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve seen the Bobcats in action and one of the biggest takeaways in the Thursday night match up against Louisiana-Lafayette was the surprising play of Willie Jones III. WJIII came in for relief of incumbent starting quarterback Damian Williams. Williams engineered three drives, two of which resulted in punts and a Williams fumble that ended a two play drive.

Immediately the freshman from Silsbee, Texas achieved some production in the form of four straight drives that delved into Ragin’ Cajun territory and although these drives only resulted in seven points Jones III showed the talent head coach Everett Withers raved about in fall practice. He gained 255 yards of total offense in relief of Williams before he went out with an injury which shouldn’t keep him from seeing action against Coastal Carolina. How much playing time each quarterback will see is a game time decision but more than likely Damian Williams will start.

Between Williams and Jones III the ever-revolving door of receivers will continue to spin for whichever signal caller Withers calls upon. Since the I-35 rivalry game against UTSA a month ago the Bobcat wide receiving corp have faced injuries depleting a well rounded group of talent. Wide out Eric Luna makes a return to the lineup from multiple injuries shrinking the hole of veteran leadership among the receivers. Elijah King has been productive as the leading receiver and they’ll need tight end Gabe Schrade to step up in the passing game especially as a short yard check down when the offensive line breaks down. Multipositional everyman Hutch White should also see action as he’s proven to be a valuable target.

Coastal Carolina Outlook

The Chanticleers took a different approach to their offensive attack against Appalachian State. Quarterback Tyler Keane and the Coastal Carolina receivers launched into an air attack against the Mountaineers and it would have worked if it wasn’t for that pesky Taylor Lamb.

A loss is still a loss but the Chanticleers may have found a new avenue of production seeing as for the most part the offense is anchored by a consistent rushing attack. Nevertheless, Keane has eclipsed the 300-yard mark twice in the past four games after tallying 238 yards in the first three games combined. Texas State has given up the long ball a lot this year, allowing a staggering 261.4 yards a game through the air. Coastal Carolina’s talent at wide receiver could exploit the Bobcat secondary and further the air raid trend. Malcolm Williams leads the Chanticleer’s receivers with 482 yards and three touchdowns and Ky’Jon Tyler who usually moonlights as the team’s kick return specialist chimed in with 141 yards receiving last week against App State.

With the exception of two blowout losses to Arkansas State and FCS Western Illinois, the Coastal defense has kept the Chanticleers to average scoring deficits of around seven points. Defensive end Marcus Williamson has been a bright spot, racking up a team high three sacks and four tackles for losses. Williamson seems poised to overlap his 3.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss from 2016. Much like the Texas State defense, Coastal Carolina has not fared well in grabbing defensive interceptions. They’ve only tallied one pick so far this year but the Chanticleer secondary has done a good job in coverage since defensive coordinator Mickey Matthews switched from zone to man coverage in 2017.

Conclusion

On paper this is going to be a game pitting two of the worst programs in the nation. Both teams have promise further down the line and I think this game has the potential for the winner to be decided by who ever scores last

Texas State 31 Coastal Carolina 29