<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0WQfjW_0vAJK7M300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0WQfjW_0vAJK7M300" width="1210" height="806" ></figure><h2>Game notes</h2><ul><li>Time and date: Thursday, August 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET</li><li>Network: CBS Sports Network</li><li>Location: AmFirst Stadium — Jacksonville, AL</li><li>Jacksonville State (-2.5)</li><li>Over/under: 55.5</li><li>All-time series: Series tied, 1-1</li><li>Last meeting: Coastal Carolina 30, Jacksonville State 16 — September 9, 2023</li><li>Current streak: Coastal Carolina, 1 (2023)</li></ul><h2>Setting the scene</h2>It’s an all-out bird battle between the Chanticleers and the Gamecocks.Both of these recent FBS additions attained success well ahead of schedule. Coastal Carolina claimed a share of a Sun Belt championship and earned a season-ending ranking of No. 14 by year four of its FBS tenure, collecting back-to-back 11-win campaigns in 2020 and 2021. Jacksonville State is only one year into FBS life, and the Gamecocks already have a 9-win season and a New Orleans Bowl victory to show for it.Thursday night only features two battles between FBS programs. One is North Carolina vs. Minnesota. The other is Coastal Carolina vs. Jacksonville State, adding much-needed exposure for the Sun Belt and CUSA dark horse contenders to show what their programs are made of in 2024.<h2>Coastal Carolina Chanticleers outlook</h2><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3ncCDT_0vAJK7M300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3ncCDT_0vAJK7M300" width="1920" height="1280" >Coastal Carolina has only played seven years in the FBS. Yet, there is already one highly-identifiable player synonymous with all of the program’s success. Four of those seven years were spent with Grayson McCall lining up behind the center, and while the sixth-year senior quarterback remains eligible for the 2024 season, his days wearing the teal and black are over after his transfer to NC State.McCall will be a tricky quarterback to replace. He threw for over 10,000 yards at Coastal Carolina, sporting an insanely remarkable touchdown to interception ratio of 88-to-14. He was the model of efficiency with a career 69.9 completion percentage, and his mastery of the speed option was second to none — although the latter ability was better suited to Jamey Chadwell’s offense that the scheme utilized by current head coach Tim Beck.The Chanticleers hope they found a worthy successor in redshirt freshman Ethan Vasko, who played on a regular basis last fall. He logged four starts and eight total appearances, vying for McCall’s level of efficiency with seven touchdowns and one interception on a 62.3 completion rate. The passing game wasn’t quite as vertical with Vasko in the lineup, but he proved his mobility with a 170-yard rushing rampage against Old Dominion. Vasko also ushered in Coastal Carolina’s second bowl win in program history, earning MVP honors in a 24-14 victory over San Jose State.Another quarterback that could see time Thursday night is Michigan State transfer Noah Kim who started the first five games for the Spartans last year, finishing with 1,090 passing yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions on a 56.9 completion percentage.The offense underwent a notable schematic shift in year one under Coach Beck, moving from Chadwell’s shotgun-based spread option attack to a more standard pro-style offense featuring a handful of quick passes, especially to the boundaries.As a result, for the first time since joining the FBS, Coastal Carolina did not feature a 500-yard rusher. Braydon Bennett led the group with 407 yards on a 4.5 average, and he returns as the No. 1 tailback in the offense, supported by a stable of secondary backs in Max Balthazar, Ja’Vin Simpkins, and Mississippi State transfer Simeon Price. But a lot of ground production could come from Vasko improvisation, as the quarterback finished second on the team in rushing yards despite only logging four starts all season.The receivers get more chance to shine in the revamped offense, but Coastal Carolina is moving on from their dynamic duo of Sam Pinckney and Jared Brown — both massive losses for the unit. The Chanticleers are in search of a new No. 1 receiver, and Jameson Tucker and Kyre Duplessis — who finished third and fourth in receiving yards — look to upgrade to that status. But they appropriately addressed this position in the portal, bringing in Malick Meiga from Penn State, Senika McKie from UNLV, and a horde of small college standouts to bolster depth.Last season was really the first year of Coastal Carolina football where the defense was the stronger of the two units. The Chanticleers vastly improved on that side of the ball from 2022 to 2023, jumping from 111th to 50th in scoring defense. While they struggled to get off the field with a below-average opponent third down conversion percentage of 41.7, they more than made up for those struggles in the turnover department by forcing 23 takeaways — finishing top 25 in turnover margin.The two chief promoters of the turnover movement were safety Clayton Isbell and cornerback Keonte Lusk, who both corralled three interceptions apiece, but neither are on the 2024 roster. The passing defense was sharp last year, and the Chanticleers hope the unit remains stable with free safety Tobias Fletcher (36 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups) and nickel Juan Powell (55 tackles, 5 TFLs, 6 pass breakups) leading the charge.But pass rush and coverage work symbiotically together, and Coastal Carolina needs to win more battles on the defensive line for its high turnover output to sustain. Defensive end Micheal Mason won’t be a seamless player to replace after registering 7.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss last year, as the team’s third-leading tackler. The only other Chanticleer to produce at least three sacks in 2023 was defensive end Will Whitson, who hopes to carry the torch as the chief backfield invader.Against a program like Jacksonville State, Thursday night will mostly be about containing the run. Thus, Coastal Carolina’s front seven becomes the x-factor in this game. By forcing frequent tackles for loss or minimal gains on early downs, the Chanticleers can put Jacksonville State in uncomfortable third-and-long situations and force the run-heavy Gamecocks to drop back and test their mettle through the air.<h2>Jacksonville State Gamecocks outlook</h2><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3pC8cG_0vAJK7M300" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3pC8cG_0vAJK7M300" width="1920" height="1280" >It was perhaps the most unlikely story of the 2023 college football season.FCS programs typically struggle with the transition to the FBS level, just like Coastal Carolina did when posting a 3-9 record in its inaugural 2017 season. Jacksonville State is an exception to the rule, however, and the Gamecocks pieced together a 9-4 record and a New Orleans Bowl win over Louisiana — only bypassing bowl ineligibility in year one due to the sheer lack of eligible teams.Their head coach is no stranger to building programs though. Rich Rodriguez brought West Virginia to multiple BCS bowls in the 2000s and had the Mountaineers a win away from a national championship appearance in 2007. He also took over an Arizona program coming off a 4-8 season and turned it into a Pac-12 Championship Game finalist and New Year’s Six-bound team by year three at the helm.Rodriguez already succeeded with flying colors in his FBS debut year at Jacksonville State, but now the Gamecocks have more to play for with full-fledged bowl eligibility and conference championship eligibility, a pair of luxuries the program wasn’t granted last season.To immediately succeed at an upstart program, oftentimes you have to approach the game with an unorthodox style, and that’s what Rodriguez does at Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks run the ball more often than service academies such as Army and Navy. They finished second in the FBS in rushing attempts per game with 49.8, only trailing Air Force in the department. The offense relies on an abundance of zone reads, requiring every quarterback that takes a snap to display strong mobility skills. Considering most of Jacksonville State’s zone reads involve a quick prediction of where the defensive end will wind up, this offense will quickly make the Chanticleers’ defensive ends the most vital players on the field.Who is the Gamecocks’ chief decision-maker for such plays? It could be Logan Smothers, who started four games at quarterback and appeared in all 13 for the Gamecocks last year. It could also be UConn transfer Zion Turner, who started 12 games for UConn in 2022. But there are high odds both quarterbacks see series Thursday night. This was a common strategy for Jacksonville State in 2023 with Smothers and former quarterback Zion Webb, who would often alternate possessions before Rodriguez eventually settled on the hotter hand.Smothers rushed for 322 yards and seven touchdowns last year, while Turner rushed for 262 and one in his 2022 campaign at UConn. Neither quarterback has ever shredded a secondary with 200 passing yards before, and that’s not a requisite in this offense. But they’ll need to step up, read a safety, and make the occasional throw on an RPO to keep defenses on their heels.Smothers and Turner are equipped with several capable threats in the backfield, and Jacksonville State really likes to flaunt its depth at running back. Anwar Lewis and Ron Wiggins posted nearly identical stats last year as the secondary running backs in the offense, toting 93 carries for 452 yards and 92 carries for 468 yards, respectively. They’ll get plenty of usage, but Andrew Paul should see substantial action too. The former 4-star recruit logged 129 rushing yards for Georgia last season, and he’ll see his role expand as he treks west across I-20 from Athens, GA to Jacksonville, AL.The strongest position group serving as the engine behind it all is the offensive line. Three starters return on this unit in Clay Webb, Will O’Steen, and Brock Robey. Webb is certainly a name to become familiar with as the left guard is already heralded as one of the best in the country. The future NFL Draft pick was named to several preseason All-American teams, ranging from the Associated Press to USA Today to Walter Camp, so all eyes will be on No. 74 Thursday night.As good as Jacksonville State’s run-based offense was in 2023, the defense was even more spectacular. The Gamecocks finished 33rd in the FBS with 21.2 points allowed per game and 43rd nationally in fewest yards yielded — stupendous numbers for an FBS newcomer. But what made Jacksonville State unique was its knack for creating havoc. The Gamecocks ranked within the top 10 of the FBS with 25 turnovers forced with 16 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. It was a concerted effort as 13 different players snagged a pick and seven different scooped up the pigskin.Many of these turnover contributors are back, but the biggest loss on defense is defensive end Chris Hardie who transferred to Ole Miss. J-Rock Swain hopes to step into the leading defensive end role after producing 4.0 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2023, the most of any returning Gamecock.<h2>Prediction</h2>There’s nothing more interesting than a clash of styles, and given Coastal Carolina’s recent MO shift under Tim Beck, this game is going to feature two distinctively different offenses. Coastal Carolina prefers to attack through the air, but quarterback Ethan Vasko is equipped with a set of wheels that could be lethal if Jacksonville State doesn’t play with a spy.For time of possession purposes and to keep the defense from getting gassed, running Vasko could be a sound strategy for Coastal Carolina, even though the offense’s instinct is to laser quick passes to the outside.When Jacksonville State has the ball, it wants to muddy up this game. Pounding the rock and controlling the clock are Rich Rodriguez’s main focus, and his read option attack will be one constant throughout this contest, even if he rotates the quarterbacks and running backs. Coastal Carolina’s defensive ends must be on their heels, trying to make life difficult for Logan Smothers and Zion Turner when making quick decisions out of the backfield.But Coastal Carolina needs to ramp up the quality of its rushing defense to prevail in this one. They were 100th against the run last year, so Jacksonville State’s offensive line aims to control this Coastal Carolina front and keep up the Gamecocks’ winning ways as they enter year two of FBS play.Prediction: Jacksonville State 27, Coastal Carolina 20</div></body>

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2024 Week 1 Preview: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers @ Jacksonville State Gamecocks

Time and date: Thursday, August 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Jacksonville State (-2.5) Last meeting: Coastal Carolina 30, Jacksonville State 16 — September 9, 2023. Current streak: Coastal Carolina, 1 (2023) Setting the scene. It’s an all-out bird battle between the Chanticleers and the Gamecocks. Both of these...

2024 Week 1 Preview: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers @ Jacksonville State Gamecocks

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