Previewing the Tribe’s FBS Competition Ahead of Week 2
BY: Pietro Marino
2023 Rewind
Record: 8 – 5 (5 – 3 Sun Belt)
Postseason: Hawaii Bowl, W 24 -14 vs. San Jose State
Coastal rose to national prominence after rattling off a pair of 11 win seasons from 2020 – 2021, and have remained competitive in an uber talented Sun Belt conference. Current head coach Tim Beck took over last season after Jamey Chadwell took the coaching gig at Liberty, leading the Chants to a respectable 8 – 5 record.
After a 2-3 start to the season, the Chants rattled off five consecutive victories with a standout win against Appalachian State 27 – 24. Yet, this was a streaky group, and they would end the regular season losing two of their last three games; a 56 – 14 drubbing against James Madison sealed a third place finish in the Sun Belt.
After a concussion suffered on Oct 21st versus Arkansas State, three-year starting QB Grayson McCall was replaced in favor of Jarrett Guest, with redshirt freshman Ethan Vasko also starting four games. The latter would eventually win a QB competition against former Michigan State QB Noah Kim to be the current starter for the Chants heading into their contest against the Tribe.
Offensively, it was a down year for the Chants, and with their QB carousel it’s not hard to see why. The team had just a 48% TD-conversion rate when in the red-zone, and their 360 points scored was the fewest since their 2018 campaign. The production on the outside was there though, with WR’s Sam Pickney (72 – 1027 – 8) and Jared Brown (58 – 740 – 4) keeping defenses on their toes. On the ground, the team was middle-of-the-pack, averaging 154.6 rushing yards per game (69th out of 130th).
On the defensive side of the ball, the Chants did allow an average of 416 yards per game, but made up for it with 14 interceptions en route to only 23.8 points given up per game.
Considering the instability of their QB room and all the growing pains associated with a new head coach, I’d consider 2023 a mild success for the Chants.
2024 Season
Record: 1 – 0 (Last Game: Win versus Jax State 55 – 27)
Key Returners: QB Ethan Vasko, RB Braydon Bennett, TE Kendall Karr, CB Matthew McDoom, S Juan Powell, S Tobias Fletcher, DE Will Whitson
Key Departures: QB Grayson McCall (NC State), WR Sam Pinckney (NFL Draft), WR Jared Brown (South Carolina), OL Will McDonald (Cal), LS Payton Bunch (UVA), RB CJ Beasley (Georgia State)
New Additions: WR Tray Taylor (Tyler J.C), RB Christian Washington (New Mexico), CB Cristian Conyer (Tennessee), IOL Sawyer Goram-Welch (Texas), EDGE Richie Aguilar (Shepherd), OT Heston Edwards (UTPB)
The Tribe weren’t the only team in college football beating up on their opponent last Thursday night, as Coastal Carolina dropped a 50-piece on Jacksonville State to start their season. This was a statement win for Coastal, as they marched into State as 3.5 point underdogs and marched out with a 28-point margin of victory. Although it won’t be talked about much in the national media, this was one of the more impressive Week 1 win’s, considering CCU won last year’s meeting in a much more competitive 30-16 contest.
CCU compiled 555 yards of total offense, including nearly 300 yards on the ground as four players logged 10+ carries. The ground game’s 57 carries also led to a massive time of possession disparity, with Coastal controlling the clock for just under 40 minutes while Jax State was left with 20:09 minutes.
There were a lot of questions surrounding Coastal’s offense heading into the season with 3-year starter Grayson McCall off to NC State, but Ethan Vasko seemed to quell any concerns rather quickly. Vasko was 12/19 with 249 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception, while adding 39 yards and a rushing touchdown on 12 carries. Coach Beck does like to utilize RPO schemes and while the efficiency wasn’t there for Vasko this past Thursday, it’s definitely something the Tribe need to keep an eye on heading into this Saturday.
With Pickney drafted by the Panthers and Brown transferring to South Carolina over the offseason, the Chants wide-receiver core looked different, but still got the job done against Jax State. 5 ‘8 speedster and junior-college transfer Tray Taylor led the team with 3 catches for 98 yards and a score while Junior Jameson Tucker added 45 yards and a touchdown also on 3 catches. While the team hasn’t had a big-body threat emerge for this young season, they more than make up for it with their speed. Simply put, the Tribe secondary cannot be caught flat-footed against these Chants.
As for the Chants defense, 17 of the Gamecocks 27 points were scored in the 4th quarter, and the unit forced 3 turnovers and got in on the scoring themselves, so it’s safe to say they did their job throughout the night.
Also to note, there are 66 new players on Coastal’s roster coming into the season. For all the streakiness and inconsistency that seemed to surround them last year, not too many players were there to experience. Like W&M, this is a hungry team that wants to prove that their last season was just an off-year.
Series History: 0 – 0
Last Meeting: Not applicable
The Chants and Tribe have never met on the gridiron, so for this section let’s dive into the last time the Tribe knocked off an FBS opponent.
During their historic 2022-2023 season, W&M marched into Charlotte and handed the 49ers a convincing 41-24 loss at home, racking up an insane 560 total yards in the process. That was the Tribe’s first win against an FBS opponent since their iconic 2009 win over UVA and should be celebrated, but some context about the 2022 Charlotte 49ers is also needed: they were…really bad.
This was a team who fired their head coach after a 1-7 start to the season en route to a 3 – 9 finish to the year (wins over Georgia Southern, Rice and Louisiana Tech). To sum it up, this Chants team is a big step above that 49ers team.
Defensively, Coastal has a strong secondary that will limit the big-play opportunities from the always-creative Tribe offense. This is the game to dig deep into the offensive playbook, but also where controlling the clock and keeping Coastal’s offense off the field might just be the best defense. A healthy dose of Malachi Imoh and Bronson Yoder on the ground should be expected.
Keeping the defensive line fresh for the Tribe is going to be big, as Coastal’s ground and pound approach from Week 1 will no doubt carry over. The Chants O-Line was nothing short of dominant last week, so the trenches are going to be where this contest is won (or lost).
Gonna have to flip the script on that Chants run-game!
FBS vs FCS games are always a crapshoot in terms of competitiveness, especially in the modern CFB landscape. With the transfer portal and greater NIL resources among FBS teams, the player personnel changes are much more drastic compared to their FCS counterparts. With 66 new players, this is just not the same inconsistent Coastal Carolina team from last year.
Regardless of the outcome, it will be a great measuring stick game for our guys in Green and Gold. Look for our 3 Players, 2 Matchups, 1 Prediction on this matchup in the coming days, and as always, Go Tribe!
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