Coastal Carolina made history Friday with its first FBS Bowl win in program history, but for viewers, there might have been another first-time occurrence.
With a little under 3:30 left in the Cure Bowl against Northern Illinois, Coastal Carolina forced a fumble just past midfield as Northern Illinois, down 47-41, looked to mount a game-winning drive. In a bizarre sequence, Coastal Carolina's Dre Pinckney picked up the ball and ran about 12 yards before being tackled by his own teammate
Redshirt senior safety Alex Spillum finished the game with 12 tackles, but his move to bring down Pinckney didn't count as one. Still, his attempt to preserve possession rather than advance the ball didn't secure the win for the Chanticleers.
Northern Illinois ended up getting the ball back for one final drive, which ended in the Coastal Carolina red zone as time expired amidst a flurry of confusion from the referees. As the referees were still deliberating, the Chanticleers immediately rushed to celebrate with their fans in the end zone after matching the program's most FBS wins (11) in a single season.
But regarding the viral tackle, Pinckney later responded with a tweet saying that he might take a different approach to a late-game turnover next time around.
