CONWAY, S.C. — It was an unconventional gamble, but it may have saved Coastal Carolina’s chances of winning the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division and playing for a conference championship.
The Chanticleers were clinging to a seven-point lead over Troy and facing a third-and-4 at their own 31-yard line with 3:26 to play.
With CCU lined up to punt into a stiff wind, defensive lineman C.J. Brewer took the direct snap as an up-back and ran around the left side of the line for a 12-yard gain and a first down that helped preserve a 35-28 win at Brooks Stadium on Thursday night.
No. 24 Coastal Carolina (7-1, 3-1 Sun Belt) bounced back from its first regular-season loss in two seasons, and kept pace with Appalachian State in the loss column following the Chants’ loss to the Mountaineers on a last-second field goal last Wednesday night. App State (5-2, 2-1) plays Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday and has the tiebreaker in the East Division over the Chants.
Troy (4-4) dropped to 2-2 in the conference.
CCU quarterback Grayson McCall completed 14-of-26 passes for 294 yards and two touchdowns with his second interception of the season, and CCU outgained the Trojans 510-389.
An App State hangover?
Coastal came out flat, perhaps due to a deflation from its loss at App State last Wednesday.
The Chants failed to gain a first down on their first two possessions, and the second punt followed a drop on an easy pass over the middle by sure-handed receiver Jaivon Heiligh.
They also allowed two big plays on defense on Troy’s second possession, a 64-yard pass to the Trojans’ top receiver Tez Johnson, and 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Deyunkrea Lewis, who was left alone at the left pylon.
Big-play offense
After not having a touchdown play of 50 yards or more through the first five games of the season, Coastal has recorded eight TDs of 54 yards or longer in the past three games, including three on Thursday.
McCall hit Heiligh down the left sideline for a 66-yard touchdown to give Coastal a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, and he hit Braydon Bennett down the right sideline on a wheel route out of the backfield to push the lead to 21-7 later in the quarter. Shermari Jones added a 54-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
They are added to four long TD plays against Arkansas State — receptions of 99 and 64 yards by Isaiah Likely and runs of 64 and 67 yards by Reese White and Bryce Carpenter — and a 74-yard McCall pass to Kameron Brown at Appalachian State.
McCall down, but not out
McCall had to leave the game in the third quarter with an injury and missed a few plays, but he returned for CCU’s next possession and played the remainder of the team’s offensive snaps.
McCall took a big hit on his fourth consecutive rush early in the third quarter and took a knee on his way to the sideline, then sat down while chugging water and speaking to members of the CCU training staff. He entered the medical tent on the sideline and emerged, sans helmet, before jogging down the sideline to congratulate teammates after they completed a scoring drive.
With McCall sidelined, backup QB Bryce Carpenter entered for four rushing plays, including two of his own carries for 12 yards, to cover 24 yards capped by a 4-yard TD run by Shermari Jones that gave CCU a 28-14 lead.
The opening drive of the second half was 14 plays and 78 yards over 8:24, the longest drive of the season in terms of game time.
Bending, bending, not breaking
Troy sophomore Kimani Vidal ran through Coastal’s defense for 137 yards and a touchdown on his first 17 carries.
But after gaining 9 yards on a first-down run early in the fourth quarter, he was stuffed for no gain by the CCU defense on consecutive runs needing just a yard for a first down.
Linemen Josaiah Stewart and C.J. Brewer combined for the first stop, and linebackers Teddy Gallagher and Enock Makonzo combined for the second to force a punt.
The Chants scored on the ensuing drive to push their advantage to two touchdowns. McCall rolled right on third-and-10 at his 32 and hit Heiligh for a nice 14-yard catch on the sideline while withstanding a big hit from behind, and Shermari Jones scored on a 54-yard run up the middle on the next play.
Vidal finished with 141 yards on 21 carries, and the Trojans rushed for 166 yards and a 4.7-per-carry average.
Poll implications
Coastal has been ranked for 20 consecutive releases of both The AP Top 25 and USA Today AFCA Coaches polls, and entered the game ranked 24th in both polls. A close win at home against what will be considered a marginal opponent should keep CCU just inside the Top 25.
The Chants dropped from No. 14/16 to 24th following their loss to Appalachian State last Wednesday. They began the season ranked 22/24.
Up next
Coastal travels to Georgia Southern next week for its fourth road game of the season. CCU had a seven-game road-win streak snapped last week.
The Bulldogs (2-5 overall, 1-3 Sun Belt) have lost five of their past six and two straight since a 59-33 win over Arkansas State on Oct. 2. They host Georgia State (3-4, 2-1) on Saturday.
Georgia Southern has struggled on defense this season, ranking 127th out of 130 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 492 yards per game, and ranking 124th with more than 7 yards allowed per play, and 114th with 34 points allowed per game. With their option offense, the Bulldogs rank 10th in the NCAA in rushing at 234 yards per game and average more than 5 yards per carry.
