WBTW

Coastal Football prepares for big match Saturday against App State

CONWAY, S.C. – For the third-straight season, the Coastal Carolina football team will open up Sun Belt Conference play on the road, this year traveling to Boone, N.C. for a Sun Belt Saturday afternoon showdown at Appalachian State on Sept. 28. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and WRNN Hot Talk 99.5 FM.

Series Versus the Mountaineers

• Coastal Carolina is 0-5 all-time versus Appalachian State on the football field, including going 0-2 in Sun Belt play.

• The Chanticleers are 0-4 all-time at Kidd Brewer Stadium, including playing three games as FCS members in 2005, 2006 and 2012.

Date                Location                                 Result

9-17-05            at App State                           L, 30-3

11-25-06          at App State                           L, 45-28

9-29-12            at App State                           L, 55-14

10-21-17          at App State                           L, 37-29

11-03-18          at Coastal Carolina                L, 23-7

A Lot on the Line

• Coastal Carolina has a lot on the line heading into its Sun Belt Conference opener at Appalachian State this Saturday afternoon (Sept. 28).

• The Chanticleers are on a three-game winning streak, matching the program’s longest winning streak as an FBS member (2017).

Current Winning Streak

Date                Opponent                               Result

9-7-19              at Kansas                                W, 12-7

9-14-19            Norfolk State                          W, 46-7

9-21-19            at UMass                                W, 62-28

Sun Belt Conference Openers

• Coastal is 1-1 in Sun Belt Conference openers since joining the league in 2017.

• The Chants will be looking to win back-to-back conference openers with a win at Appalachian State this weekend, having defeated Louisiana 30-28 (Sept. 22, 2018) in last year’s conference opener.

• Coastal will be opening up Sun Belt play for the third-straight year on the road when the Chants kickoff at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday.

Sun Belt Conference Openers

Date                Opponent                   Result

9-30-17            at ULM                        L, 51-43

9-22-18            at Louisiana                 W, 30-28

Sun Belt Struggles

• Heading into their third season as members of the Sun Belt Conference, the Chanticleers are 4-12 overall in conference play having gone 2-6 in each of their first two years (2017 and 2018).

• Dating back to last season, the Chants have lost four-straight conference games and will look to snap that streak this weekend.

Current Sun Belt Conference Losing Streak

Date                Opponent                               Result

11-3-18            vs. App State                          L, 23-7

11-10-18          vs. Arkansas State                 L, 44-16

11-17-18          vs. Georgia Southern             L, 41-17

11-23-18          at South Alabama                  L, 31-28

• The Chanticleers’ last conference win was a 37-34 victory on the road at Georgia State on Oct. 27, 2018.

Love on the Road

• Coastal is 2-0 on the season in true road games with wins at Kansas (Sept. 7) and at UMass (Sept. 21).

• The Chants are 7-3 over their last 10 road games dating back to the end of the 2017 season (a 13-7 road win at Idaho on Nov. 18, 2017).

One for the Record Books

• The Coastal offense turned in a performance for the record books in the 62-28 road win at UMass (Sept. 21) last weekend in Amherst, Mass.

• The 62 points scored by the Chants in the win are the most in a single game since posting 70 points in the win over Charleston Southern in 2010 (Nov. 20, 2010) and are the sixth-most points scored in a game in program history.

• The 42 points in the first half tied the school record set back at North Greenville in 2003 (Sept. 25) for the most points scored in a single half in CCU’s annals.

• Coastal’s offense totaled 636 total offensive yards on the day, the fifth-most in a single-game in program history, and the most since the program-record 690 total yards at Charlotte in 2014 (Nov. 18).

• CCU’s nine total touchdowns were tied for the third-most in CCU history, while the six rushing scores are tied for fifth all-time in program history.

Two for 100, Alex

• In the win at UMass, CJ Marable tallied 15 carries for 100 yards and two scores while quarterback Bryce Carpenter led the way with a career-high 102 rushing yards on 12 carries. It was the first 100-yard rushing game for the sophomore quarterback.

• Marable and Carpenter became the first Chants’ duo to record 100-plus rushing yards in a single game since 2016 (Kenneth Daniels (133) and Ryan Lee (121) at Monmouth (11-05-16)) and just the seventh tandem all-time in CCU history.

Totally Offensive

• Over the last two games, the Chants’ offense has been clicking on all cylinders by totaling 1,157 total yards, an average of 578.5 yards per game.

Total Offensive Yards – Last Two Games

Opponent                   Rushing         Passing          Total

Norfolk State              401                  120                  521

at UMass                    334                  302                  636

Fourth Down Success

• CCU was solid on fourth downs in 2018, as the offense ranked first in the Sun Belt and 10th nationally in fourth-down conversions at 11-of-16 (69 percent).

• The success has continued in the 2019 season thus far, as the Chants are a perfect 8-of-8 on fourth-down attempts this year, which is tied for the best percentage in the nation with just 14 other schools.

Leaders of the Pack

• The Coastal defense ranks among the league and nation’s best in several different statistical categories after four weeks of the season.

STAT                                                                          SBC    NCAA

Total Defense (YPG)                         254.3               1st       8th

Passing Yards Allowed (YPG)         147.5               1st       11th

Interceptions                                       5                      1st       12th

Scoring Defense (PPG)                    18.0                 1st       28th

Rushing Defense (YPG)                   106.8               3rd       34th

First Downs Defense                         62                    3rd       40th

Third-Down Pct. Defense                  33.3 %            2nd      45th

Red Zone Defense (PCT.)                77.8%              5th       50th

Scouting the Mountaineers

• Picked to win the Sun Belt Conference East Division in the 2019 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Appalachian State is 3-0 on the season and is coming off a 34-31 road win at North Carolina last weekend in Chapel Hill.

• The Mountaineers offense is averaging 44.0 points per game, which ranks 13th nationally, and 429.0 yards per contest, an average of 6.8 yards per play.

• One of just 14 teams that are perfect on fourth-down attempts this season (2-for-2), App State is 13-of-14 (93 percent) in red-zone scoring on the year which is first in the Sun Belt and 23rd nationally.

• The Mountaineers have turned the ball over just once all season long (1 INT, 0 fumbles) and are led by preseason all-conference performers in QB Zac Thomas (50-73-1, 556 yds., 5 TD) and RB Darrynton Evans (52 carries, 411 yds., 7 TD).

• The App State defense has forced six turnovers on the year (3 INTs, 3 fumbles) which gives the Mountaineers a 1.67 turnover margin, which ranks sixth nationally.

• Led by LB Jordan Fehr’s team-high 28 tackles (1.0 TFL), 12 total players have registered at least a 0.5 tackle-for-loss on the season to give the Mountaineers 24 TFL overall and an average of 8.0 TFL per game which is first in the Sun Belt and 16th nationally.

• App State has recorded 9.0 sacks on the year, which also ranks first in the Sun Belt and 20th nationally at 3.0 sacks per contest.

Courtesy: CCU Athletics