Sept. 22, 2010
Coastal Carolina vs. Delaware State
- Family Weekend
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010
6:00 pm - Brooks Stadium
Complete Coastal Carolina Notes (Delaware State game) in PDF Format 
Series Information
This is the third meeting between Coastal Carolina and Delaware State with team getting a win on their home turf in the previous meetings. Almost five years to the day (Sept. 24, 2005), Coastal Carolina and Delaware State first met with the Chanticleers hard-fought getting a 24-6 victory at Brooks Stadium. DSU forced five Coastal turnovers, but the CCU defense was a difference maker. The Hornets were limited to just six points and 190 yards of total offense, while CCU churned out 297 total yards, 213 of them on the ground. The game was also marred by penalties, as DSU was penalized 17 times for 144 yards and Coastal had seven penalties for 68 yards. Coastal was led by Jamie Fordham, who posted his first collegiate 100-yard rushing game with 109 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. Delaware State was led by quarterback Vashon Winton completing 15-of-33 passes for 93 yards and three interceptions. The second meeting between the schools was the teams' 2007 season opener with the Hornets winning 23-18 in Dover. Then ranked #23, Coastal got on the board first, holding the Hornets to a three-and-out on their first possession. Marrio Norman returned the ensuing punt 51 yards to give Coastal the ball on the DSU 8. However, the drive stalled and then redshirt freshman Justin Durham hit from 27 yards for a 3-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. However, Delaware State made some big plays of their own to get the win, including a Kareem Jones 63-yard touchdown run, two Vashon Winton to Shaheer McBride 53-yard touchdown strikes and a Jones' 74-yard kickoff return to the Coastal 12 to set up a 30-yard field goal by Peter Gaertner. Offensive yardage was about even, as DSU had 351 yards to Coastal's 347, but third down conversions hurt the Chants, as they converted just 1 of 16 on third down.
Chants in Unfamiliar Territory, Known for Batting Back
Coastal Carolina is 0-3 for the first time in the program's eighth year. In 2006, Coastal started the season 1-2 before getting a win over South Carolina State in week two, closing the season with eight straight wins and getting the Big South's first ever playoff berth. The Chants' worst start to a season came in 2007 when Coastal started 1-4. Coastal rallied to win four of its last six and finish 3-1 in the Big South as league runners-up. Coastal Carolina has never lost home games in back-to-back weeks in its short history. However, in the program's first year, the Chants did lose two consecutive home games, falling to Morehead State on Sept. 13, 2003 then, after two road games, lost again at home to Gardner-Webb on Oct. 4.
The Zach Attack; CCU Record Falls, Big South Records Upcoming
Zach MacDowall broke his own school record in the Georgia Southern loss, completing 27 passes and bettering his previous mark of 25 set last season versus Gardner-Webb. MacDowall was 27-of-41 for 314 and three scores with two interceptions. MacDowall was also on pace to break the school record for completion percentage in a game (81.5; 22-27 by Tyler Thigpen in 2006) until having to throw some balls away and force some passes in the come-from-behind attempt. In fact, MacDowall only had one incompletion in the first half --a tipped ball that was intercepted, completing 12-of-13 passes, and was 18-of-21 through three quarters. To start the fourth, he was 222-27 after his first six pass attempts and ultimately fell off pace with five straight incompletions to finish the game. MacDowall, with three touchdown passes versus Georgia Southern and 29 for his career, needs just one more TD pass to become the sixth player in Big South history with 30. In addition, his next 300-plus passing game will give him five for his career, tying Tyler Thigpen for the CCU record and ranking second on the Big South all-time list. The current league leader is Collin Drafts with six 300-plus yard passing games.
Saved by the Marquel and Other Wideouts
Going along with MacDowall's success, several Coastal Carolina receivers had noteworthy performances from the Georgia Southern game.
Senior Marquel Willis had his biggest game since the middle of 2008, catching six passes for 90 yards with a 34-yard score to trim Coastal's deficit to three (29-26) with just under five minutes to play. Willis' aforementioned best game was catching seven passes for 145 and two scores versus Liberty in 2008.
Senior Brandon Whitley hauled in five passes for 57 yards, including a 26-yard TD to start Coastal's second-half surge.
Senior Trae Long caught his first career pass, a 41 yarder setting up a CCU score.
True freshman Matt Hazel, who missed all of preseason with an illness, played in his second game and caught his first career passes, finishing with four catches for 49 yards. He had receptions of 10, 9, 9 and 21 yards.
While he did not catch a pass, Hofstra transfer Jamaul Boswell, who missed most of the preseason with a hand injury, saw his first game action.
Tight end David Duran continued his strong play, catching a season-high five passes for 51 yards with a 12-yard TD catch. Duran has caught at least four passes and had at least 46 receiving yards in each game this season.
The Good Hands People
Brandon Whitley caught five passes for 57 yards in the Georgia Southern loss. It marked the fourth career time the senior had five receptions in a game (Charleston Southern 2008, VMI 2009 and Gardner-Webb 2009). Whitley now has 73 career catches to move into third on the CCU all-time list behind Jerome Simpson (161) and Chris Noble (80). Whitley, with 978 career receiving yards, also just needs 22 more to join Simpson (2,720) and Noble (1,126) as the only Chanticleers with 1,000-plus receiving yards. Also moving up the career receptions list are Eric O'Neal and Marquel Willis, each with 49 to tie for sixth on the all-time list.
Andrae is Giant; Leads Big South & Ranks 11th Nationally
With just 25 tackles in his freshman season and playing with preseason All-Big South linebackers Desmond Steward and Chris Walls, Andrae Jacobs was not the odds-on favorite to be the Big South leader in tackles through three games. However, the 5-11, 245-pound linebacker is doing just that, as well as tying for 11th nationally, with an average of 11.67 stops per game. Jacobs came through with 11 tackles in each of his first two games before coming up with 13 versus Georgia Southern. He had 1.5 tackles for loss facing Heisman candidate Noel Devine at West Virginia and added two -- including his first sack of the season -- versus Georgia Southern. For the season, Jacobs has 3.5 TFL and his average of 1.17 per game ranks fifth in the Big South and 81st (tied) nationally.
Buying This Rising Stock?
The Coastal Carolina offense got off to a slow start, facing nationally ranked West Virginia, but still had some positives. They have continued to show improvement in each of the next two games. Follow the rising trends of the CCU offense:
West Virginia Towson Ga. Southern
Rushing Offense 1.9 yds per att. 3.3 yds per att. 4.5 yds per att.
Passing Offense 123 yds/4.6 yds/pass 185 yds/5.6 yds/pass 314 yds/7.7 yds per pass
Total Offense 186 yds/3.1 yds/play 363 yds/4.2 yds/play 441 yds/5.8 yds per play
3rd Down Conv. 14.3% (2-14) 50% (9-18) 54.5 % (6-11)
Get Off the Field
Much like the offense, the Chanticleer defense has seen steady improvement in one key category. While Coastal ranks seventh in the Big South and 89th nationally in third down conversion defense (44.7%; 21-of-47), the unit has made marked improvement each game. West Virginia converted 9-of-17 third downs, or 52.9% Towson converted 9-of-19 third downs, or 47.4% Georgia Southern converted just 3-of-11 third downs, or 27.3%
Also a Good Trend, CCU Perfect in "Teal" Zone
While Coastal Carolina was shutout at West Virginia, the Chanticleers are now 8-of-8 when getting inside the opponent's 20 ... or the Teal Zone as Coastal like to refer to it. Coastal was a perfect 6-of-6 at Towson and 2-of-2 versus Georgia Southern. Coastal has scored six times on the ground and twice via the air when getting inside its opponent's 20. Also, Coastal is one of 17 FCS teams to be perfect in the Red Zone this season --one of seven to have as many as eight attempts -- and just one of three (with Robert Morris and Arkansas-Pine Bluff) to score all touchdowns when getting in the Red Zone.
Defense Loses Davis at DE; Gets Back Davis at DE
Coastal Carolina's defense took a hit, losing sophomore Quinton Davis with an ankle injury suffered in the Georgia Southern game. Quinton was a preseason All-Big South pick at defensive end and was tied for sixth on the team with 12 tackles. However, Coastal will get back Jamel Davis (no relation to Quinton). Jamel, a 6-4 defensive end from Richmond, injured his thumb on his first snap on the field at the season opener at West Virginia.
Taken Aback; Thomas and Jacobs Among FCS Leaders
Despite facing Heisman Trophy candidate and an explosive offense at West Virginia, Coastal Carolina's defense dropped the Mountaineers behind the line of scrimmage nine times for minus 27 yards. Leading the way were sophomores Andrae Jacobs and Chris Thomas, each with 1.5. Coastal's nine TFLs at West Virginia tied for 12th-best in the FCS after week one. However, that stat should not surprise the Chanticleer faithful as Coastal has ranked first or second in the Big South in tackles for loss in each of the last five seasons. Coastal added six TFL at Towson and seven versus Georgia Southern With an average of 7.33 TFL/game, Coastal ranks second in the Big South and 17th nationally in tackles for losses. Helping the Coastal cause in TFL are Chris Thomas and Andrae Jacobs. Thomas only has 11 tackles on the season, but has a team-best 4.5 for losses, including a sack. The sophomore ranks second in the Big South and 33rd (tied) nationally in TFL with an average of 1.50, while Jacobs has 1.17 TFL per game to rank fifth in the league and 81st nationally. Also in the league, Kent Harper is eighth in TFL (one per game) and Johnny Hartsfield is 11th (0.83 per game). Harper has quietly put together a very productive career. The senior only has 37 tackles in his career, but 7.0 have been for losses -- an average of one TFL for every five stops.
O-Line Provides Protection
After allowing 25 sacks in 2009, Coastal Carolina's offensive line did not allow the highly-touted West Virginia defense to record a sack in the season opener. Coastal Carolina was one of 25 FCS schools that did not allow a sack in the season opener. Of those 25, three played FBS schools -- two of which were Coastal and Towson. Zach MacDowall was sacked once at Towson in 33 pass attempts and just once in 43 attempts versus Georgia Southern. With an average of just 0.67 sacks allowed per game, CCU ranks second the Big South (Charleston Southern has just allowed one sack in three games) and ranks seventh nationally.
