CONWAY, S.C. – In a game that saw eight turnovers and 27 points off turnovers combined between the two teams, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers remained unbeaten with a 38-26 win over the Buffalo Bulls in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Stadium.
 
With the win, the Chants moved to 3-0 to start the season, while the loss dropped Buffalo to 0-3 on the year.
 
CCU is off to a 3-0 start for the third straight season and the fifth time in program history.
 
Despite four fumbles and running just 53 plays from the line of scrimmage compared to Buffalo's 93 plays, the Coastal offense put up 504 total yards of offense, averaging 9.5 yards per play in the win.
 
On the ground, the Chants ran for 221 yards, headlined by redshirt sophomore CJ Beasley with nine carries, 89 yards, and one touchdown and senior Reese White with two carries for 77 yards.
 
Quarterback Grayson McCall added 13 yards on the ground and again threw for three touchdowns, as he was 16-of-24 with 251 yards while connecting with seven different receivers. Veteran wideout Sam Pinckney led the way with five catches for 103 yards, while Beasley (3 rec., 74 yards), Jacob Jenkins (2 rec., 47 yards), and Tyson Mobley (1 rec., 4 yards) each had one touchdown catch in the win.
 
Buffalo ran 93 plays and totaled 337 yards of offense, but more importantly, held the ball for a total of 39 minutes for the game.
 
The Bulls were led by quarterback Cole Snyder, who was 29-for-48 through the air for 264 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions, while his two favorite targets in Justin Marshall (8 rec., 88 yards) and Quian Williams (8 rec., 62 yards) each had eight catches and a touchdown in the loss.
 
On the ground, UB rushed for just 59 yards overall, as Snyder was sacked five times on the day.
 
Defensively, the Chants' linebacker duo of Tré Pinkney and JT Killen led the way with 12 and 10 total tackles, respectively, both career-highs, while defensive backs D'Jordan Strong and Jacob Proche each had an interception and Lance Boykin forced a fumble.
 
Along the front line, Jerrod Clark, Emmanuel Johnson, Braylon Ryan, and Josaiah Stewart all had 1.0 sack, while 13 different players combined to total 13 tackles-for-loss in the victory.
 
Buffalo's defense, which recovered four fumbles, was led by linebacker James Patterson with a team-high 12 tackles, 1.0 tackle-for-loss, and a fumble recovery as well as Caleb Offord with eight stops, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup.
 
Both offenses were opportunistic in the first quarter of play, as the two teams took advantage of the others' fumble woes. Buffalo scored on two of CCU's three fumbles in the opening quarter, while the Chants added a touchdown on a Bulls' fumble for their first score of the game.
 
Buffalo took advantage of a Coastal fumble on the very first offensive play of the game to score on a 36-yard field goal by Alex McNulty to take a 3-0 lead with 11:41 to go in the opening quarter.
 
Following another Coastal fumble, the "Black Swarm" defense forced a fumble of its own on the next UB offensive possession when Boykin came in hard from his cornerback on a blitz for a stripe sack which was recovered by Kennedy Roberts.
 
Four plays later, McCall connected with Jenkins on a short pass on fourth-and-1, which he turned up field for 34-yards and a score to take a 7-3 lead with 7:33 to go in the first quarter.
 
After the two teams traded punts, Buffalo was able to take advantage of three long pass plays of 12, 14, and 18-yards to get inside the Coastal 30-yard line. However, a pair of big plays by Stewart, including a sack on third-and-long, forced the Bulls to settle for a 47-yard field to cut the CCU lead to one at 7-6 with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
 
Looking to add to its lead late in the opening frame, CCU's White broke through on the right side for a 67-yard gain before he had the ball knocked out of his hands by Jahmin Muse who also recovered the loose ball to give the ball back to the visitors in blue.
 
The Bulls again took advantage of the CCU turnover, as Snyder led the Bulls down the field on a 15-play, 68-yard scoring drive, converting five first downs to get down to the CCU 16-yard line.
 
The Coastal defense again bowed its neck and made a stop, picking up a sack, pass breakup, and stop on a third-and-20 to force a third UB field goal to give the visitors a 9-7 lead with 8:47 to go in the first half.
 
The turnover plaque continued over the next two series, as Coastal put the ball on the ground for the fourth time on a first-and-10 to give the ball to Buffalo on its own 33-yard line. However, on the very next play UB offensive play, Snyder was intercepted by Strong, who returned it back to the UB 10-yard line.
 
The interception set up a 10-yard score up the middle by Beasley to push the Chants back out in front at 14-9 with 5:48 to go before the halftime break.
 
The five-plus minutes was too much time on the clock, as the two teams swapped punts to give the ball back to the Bulls' offense with 2:10 to go in the second quarter.
 
The Bulls took advantage of a targeting penalty and a pair of double-digit pass plays to cross midfield before scoring four plays later on a 15-yard pass play from Snyder to Marshall to retake the lead at 16-14 following the extra-point with 36 seconds to go in the half.
 
The defenses continued to control the play to start the second half, as Coastal forced a UB punt on its first offensive series to start the third quarter before the Bulls' defense forced the CCU offense to turn the ball over on downs on its own 32-yard line with 8:04 to go in the quarter.
 
Buffalo went to the ground, rushing eight straight plays to move to the CCU 10-yard line on a fourth-and-1. The Coastal defense again came up big with its back up against the end zone, as a pass breakup by Strong in the end zone on a third-and-7 forced a 26-yard McNulty field goal to push the Bulls' lead to five at 19-14.
 
Coastal's offense answered with a field goal of its own on the ensuing offensive possession, as McCall and Sam Pinckney connected on back-to-back completions across the middle to move on to Buffalo's side of the field.
 
Just like CCU's defense, the UB defense stepped up and did not allow a single yard over the next three plays to force the Chants to settle for a 44-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Kade Hensley to put the home team within two at 19-17 heading into the fourth quarter of play.
 
Coastal would take advantage of another Bulls' mistake to start the fourth quarter, this time on special teams, as the UB punter Jackson Baltar mishandled a low snap on the 21-yard line which was scooped up by CCU's Jahmar Brown and returned for a touchdown to push the Chants' lead to 24-19 with 14:15 to go in the game.
 
Following the kickoff, Snyder's pass on first-and-10 was picked off by Proche in front of the Buffalo sideline to give the ball directly back to the "Teal Team 6" offense.
 
McCall and the offense responded with a 31-yard rush from Beasley to jump-start a three-play, 50-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a four-yard pass-and-catch from McCall to Mobley to give the home team the largest lead of the game at 31-19 with just over 12 minutes to go in the contest.
 
Buffalo answered with a 17-play, 71-yard touchdown drive which took 6:22 off the game clock to close the game to one score at 31-26, only to see the Chants answer with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Beasley on a third-and-17 to push the lead back out to double-digits at 38-26 following a Hensley PAT.
 
With time winding down, the Coastal defense picked up a fourth down stop to force a turnover on downs with just under two minutes to go in the game to help seal the 38-26 home win.
 
The Chanticleers (3-0) will open up the 2022 Sun Belt Conference season at Georgia State (0-2) on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 7:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta, Ga. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
 
Notes

• Coastal is 3-0 for the third consecutive season.
• The Chants have won 13-straight non-conference regular season games with the last loss dating back to the season opener versus Eastern Michigan in 2019.
• CCU is 3-0 at home this season and has won five straight home games dating back to last season.
• The Chants have won six straight games dating back to last season.
• With the win, CCU is 2-0 this year versus schools from the state of New York.
• With his touchdown pass to Jacob Jenkins in the first quarter, Grayson McCall tied Alex Ross with at least one touchdown pass in 16-straight games.
• CJ Beasley's rushing touchdown in the second quarter was his first of the season.
• CJ Beasley's receiving touchdown in the fourth quarter was the first of his career.
• D'Jordan Strong's interception was his first of the season and first since 2020.
• Lance Boykins' forced fumble in the first quarter was the first of his CCU career.
• Kennedy Roberts' fumble recovery was the first of his career.
• Jacob Proche picked up his first career interception as a Chant in the third quarter.
• Tight end Logan Mauldin recorded his first career reception in the win.
• Tré Pinkney recorded a career-high 12 tackles in the win.
• JT Killen finished the game with a career-high 10 stops in the contest.
• Jairan Parker totaled a career-high eight tackles for the game.
• Lance Boykin recorded a career-high seven tackles on the day.
• Tobias Fletcher finished with nine tackles, also a new career-high.
• Sam Pinckney recorded his first 100-yard receiving game as a Chant with his 103 yards on the day.

 



 

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