CONWAY, S.C. – For the first time in a month, the Coastal Carolina football team will host a football game at Brooks Stadium, as the Chanticleers welcome Georgia State to Conway, S.C. for a Sun Belt Conference showdown on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 5 p.m. ET.
Family Weekend
• Coastal Carolina University will be hosting its Fall Family Weekend this weekend, Oct. 11-13. The weekend includes three days of fun-filled events including a Friday night registration reception, Casino Night, Trivia Night, CCU swag, various information sessions, tickets to the Coastal Theater movies, Coffee Talk with the President, access to University Recreation (adults only accompanied by your student) and the Pre-game Tailgate Picnic.
• To register for Family Weekend go to https://www.coastal.edu/app/studentlife/familyweekend/.
Registration ends on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Hall of Fame Weekend
• The Coastal Carolina Department of Athletics is excited to announce that four Chanticleers in Jessica Alexander (women’s golf), Daniel Bowman (baseball), Rico Noel (baseball) and Lauren Yates (softball) have been elected to the George F. “Buddy” Sasser Athletics Hall of Fame.
• The induction ceremony for the Class of 2019 will be held on Friday night, Oct. 11, at the Singleton Building. The newest induction class will also be publicly honored at halftime of the football game versus Georgia State on Oct. 12. Full 2019 Class announced here (CLICK HERE).
707 Indoor Range Providing Discounted Tickets All Year Long
• The 707 Indoor Range is the presenting sponsor for discounted tickets for all first responders throughout the 2019-20 season for a select number of Coastal Carolina home football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball games.
• First responders can redeem their discounted tickets in person at the Chanticleer Athletic Ticket Office (located in Arcadia Hall) Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or at the Brooks Stadium Ticket Booths on game days.
Series Versus the Panthers
• Coastal Carolina is 1-1 all-time versus Georgia State on the football field with both games coming as Sun Belt Conference foes.
• Each team has won on the other team’s home turf in the overall series dating back to 2017.
Date Location Result
10-7-17 Conway, S.C. L, 27-21
10-27-18 Atlanta, Ga. W, 37-34
Scouting the Panthers
• Picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference East Division in the 2019 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll, Georgia State is off to a 1-1 start in Sun Belt play, including a 52-38 home win over Arkansas State last time out.
• The Panthers’ offense is averaging 36.4 points per game, which ranks third overall in the Sun Belt, and is second in the conference in total offense at 479.8 yards per contest.
• The offense is led by veteran quarterback Dan Ellington, who is the reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week. Ellington is 104-for-161 for 1,228 yards through the air, including 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
• Ellington is also second on the team in rushing, as he has rushed for 313 yards and two touchdowns on a team-high 76 carries this season.
• Running back Tra Barnett has toted the ball a team-high 468 yards for three scores on 75 carries this season, while in the passing game, the wide receiver duo of Cornelius McCoy (29 catches, 372 yards, 3 TD) and Sam Pinckney (25 catches, 312 yards, 3 TD) have combined to haul in 54 receptions for 684 yards and six touchdowns on the year.
• The Georgia State defense is allowing 40.8 points and 479.0 yards per game on the season, which is why the Panthers are 3-2 overall on the year.
• The Panthers are seventh in the Sun Belt in passing yards allowed per game (260.2) and eighth in rushing yards allowed per contest (218.8).
• The GSU defense has picked off four passes this season and forced seven fumbles, recovering two mistakes, for a total of six takeaways this year.
• Linebackers Trajan Stephens-McQueen and Ed Curney lead the Panthers in tackles with 42 and 36 stops, respectively, while safety Remy Lazarus has held down the back half of the defense with 35 tackles, one interception, and a team-high three pass breakups.
Finally Back Home
• Coastal Carolina will play at home this weekend for the first time since Sept. 14 when the Chanticleers defeated Norfolk State 46-7 in a non-conference contest.
• The Chanticleers are 1-1 at home this season and are 69-28 (.711) all-time at Brooks Stadium.
• However, the Chants are 0-1 versus Georgia State at home (L, 27-21 – 2017) and just 4-9 at home since becoming a full-time member of the FBS and Sun Belt Conference in 2017.
Turning Teal
• Assistant coach Skylor Magee joined the Coastal Carolina football staff as the defensive line coach in Feb. 2019 after two seasons at Georgia State.
• At Georgia State, Magee helped coach a defensive unit that set GSU season records for fewest points per game (24.75), fewest rushing yards per game (136.4), fewest yards per rushing attempt (4.13) and most sacks (24). Senior nose guard Julien Laurent and junior defensive end Marterious Allen earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors under Magee in 2017.
• Laurent was a first-round selection in the 2018 CFL Draft, while defensive end Mackendy Cheridor signed an NFL free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Top of the League
• Saturday’s contest will feature two of the top rushing teams in the Sun Belt Conference this season in the Chants and Panthers.
• Georgia State is second in the league in rushing with an average of 234.2 rushing yards per game, which also ranks 17th nationally.
• Coastal is third in the Sun Belt in rushing and 21st nationally at 226.8 rushing yards per contest.
Sun Belt Struggles
• Now in their third season as members of the Sun Belt Conference, the Chanticleers are 4-13 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 five-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
9-28-19 at App State L, 56-37
• The Chanticleers’ last conference win was a 37-34 victory on the road at Georgia State on Oct. 27, 2018.
Finding Paydirt
• After scoring just 12 points in the road win at Big 12 foe Kansas (Sept. 7), the fewest points scored by a Chants’ team in a win in program history, Coastal has found its offensive scoring power by scoring 145 points combined over the last three games.
• With their 145 points scored over the last three contests, CCU is averaging 48.3 points per contest during that span on an average of 6.7 touchdowns and 1.0 field goals per game.
Offensive Scoring
Opponent TDs FGs Points
Norfolk State 6 2 46
at UMass 9 0 62
at App State 5 1 37
Total 20 3 145
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 9-of-9 on fourth-down attempts this year, which is tied for the best percentage in the nation with just eight other schools.
Leaders of the Pack
• The Coastal defense ranks among the league and nation’s best in several different statistical categories after six weeks of the season.
STAT SBC NCAA
Passing Yards Allowed (YPG) 167.2 1st 11th
Interceptions 6 1st 16th
Total Defense (YPG) 289.4 1st 19th
First Downs Defense 82 1st 19th
Scoring Defense (PPG) 25.6 2nd 59th
Rushing Defense (YPG) 122.2 3rd 39th
Third-Down Pct. Defense (PCT.) 38.6 4th 82nd
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 4-of-4 on fourth-down attempts this year.
Courtesy: Coastal Carolina Athletics