Week 12 Preview: Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern

The Chanticleers face off against a 4-5 Georgia Southern team this Saturday. Both programs are coming off conference victories. While Coastal looks to keep their Sun Belt championship hopes alive, the Eagles look to take a step closer to bowl eligibility. Coastal currently sits second in the Sun Belt East Division, while Georgia Southern holds fourth place.

Coastal Carolina

The ground attack for the Chanticleers has been something special this season, averaging 193 rushing yards per game. Coming off a dominant 324-yard performance, Coastal aims to keep the momentum rolling against a Georgia Southern run defense that ranks 133rd in the FBS, allowing 222.7 rushing yards per game.

Since junior college transfer Samari Collier took over under center, the Chanticleers’ offense has opened up significantly, and his performance has noticeably improved throughout the season.

Through the first three games of the season, the Chanticleers managed just two touchdowns and ranked at the bottom of the Sun Belt in scoring. Since then, they’ve jumped to an average of 24 points and 333 total offensive yards per game, currently riding a four-game winning streak.

Defensively, the Chanticleers have been lockdown, making crucial stops to give the offense more opportunities. Despite ranking 112th in total defense, first-year defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson’s unit has kept Coastal Carolina competitive, thanks to impact players such as Ja’Marion Wayne, Xamarion Gordon, Tray Brown and Noah Arinze.

The Chanticleers have dropped their last two meetings against Georgia Southern, but breaking that streak will depend on continuing to pound the rock against an Eagles run defense that has struggled. Coastal’s running back room is deep, led by junior Ja’Vin Simpkins and featuring talented freshmen Jevon Edwards and Dominic Knicely. This depth has made it difficult for opponents to gameplan, especially with Collier under center, who is a threat both on the ground and through the air.

Georgia Southern

The Eagles held off Appalachian State in a 25-23 win as quarterback JC French IV threw for a season high 352 yards on Thursday night.

The Eagles jumped out to a commanding 22-3 advantage by the middle of the third quarter, but had to hold off a late Mountaineers comeback that came within just two points with under two minutes to play.

French completed 25-of-37 passes to surpass 2,000 yards for the season, including a 47-yard touchdown to Marcus Sanders Jr. that opened the scoring on the third play from scrimmage. Sanders finished the day with six receptions for 127 yards. With this performance, French now ranks in the top five for passing yards in the Sun Belt Conference.

Running back OJ Arnold paced the ground attack with 105 rushing yards on 20 carries, while kicker Tripp Bryant was reliable, hitting four of five field goals. Auburn transfer Camden Brown added six receptions for 97 yards, moving into third place in the Sun Belt for receiving yards and ranking 17th nationally with an average of 82 yards per game.

Defensively, the Eagles made timely stops in the final moments, helping secure the win and close out an important victory on the road, even though they allowed the Mountaineers to convert four of six fourth-down attempts.