NCAAF
(11/3/22) 7:30 PM Eastern.
Spread: Appalachian State -3 / Coastal Carolina +3
Moneyline: Appalachian State -150 / Coastal Carolina +125
Total: Over / Under 64
Thursday night football features the biggest game in the Sun Belt conference so far this season. The Appalachian State Mountaineers take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers with a chance to take 1st place in the division. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30p.m. eastern time at Brooks Stadium.
Appalachian State (5-3)
There hasn’t been a more eventful College Football team this season than the Mountaineers. From a historical upset win against TX A&M, followed up by a Hail Mary winner, and then a shocking upset defeat of their own, this teams been through it all.
It’s a Veteran team led by Senior signal caller Chase Brice. Brice is having his best season as a college QB, completing 64.9% of his passes for 1,921 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just 4 interceptions. He leads one of the most potent offenses in the Sun Belt conference. Averaging 459.6 yards per game (3rd in Sun Belt), 251.4 passing YPG (7th), 208.3 rushing YPG (2nd), and 36.9 points per game (2nd).
The rushing attack has been a 3 headed monster between Camerun Peoples, Nate Noel, and Daetrich Harrington. Peoples is the lead back; he has 75 rushes for 551 yards (6.4 YPC) and 5 touchdowns. Noel is the #2, amassing 45 carries for 305 yards (6.5 YPC) and 3 touchdowns in just 5 games. Harrington also works in and has been the only back to play in all 8 games, rushing 54 times for 266 yards (4.9 YPC).
Appalachian State’s defense has been strong for most of the season and has played very well the last 2 weeks, giving up just 20 combined points. The 309.5 total yards per game that they allow ranks 4th in the Sun Belt. Excelling against the pass surrendering just 179.4 yards per game through the air (1st). They’re middle of the back vs the run with 130.1 yards per game.
Coastal Carolina (7-1)
The Chanticleers continue to have success year in and year out. They’ve struggled to replace much of their defensive talent from a season ago but, with future NFL Grayson McCall at the helm they’ve done it with offense.
McCall has completed nearly 69% of his passes for 2,061 yards and 19 touchdowns, he’s also thrown just 1 interception on his 218 attempts. He’s a threat on the ground, not your typical running QB but capable of extending plays. He has 158 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Sam Pinckney and Jared Brown are his go to receivers. Pickney has 45 receptions for 628 yards and a touchdown while Brown’s reeled in 34 for 622 yards and 5 touchdowns. He looks to TE Jacob Jenkins in the red zone, the 6’3 Junior has 4 touchdown catches on 9 receptions in just 4 games.
They also boast the 5th best rushing attack in the Sun Belt, averaging 172.4 rushing YPG. CJ Beasley leads the team with 106 rushes for 559 yards and 4 touchdowns, but Reese White has been an explosive compliment. The Senior out of Georgia is averaging 6.4 yards per carry on 52 rushes.
They have one of the worst defenses in the FBS, surrendering over 413 yards and 27 points per game. The 10th and 11th ranked offenses in the Sun Belt just combined for 935 yards. 525 yards through the air and 410 yards on the ground. Coastal owns the worst pass defense in the conference, letting up 273.4 yards per game and rank 9th allowing 139.9 rushing yards per game.
The Pick
Appalachian State -2.5. The Mountaineers offense is too much for Coastal to handle. This is the 3rd best offense in the Sun Belt going up against one of the worst defenses in the FBS. App State Senior QB Brice Young is having his best season yet and tonight he faces the worst pass defense in the conference tonight. App State’s rushing attack is it’s strength, ranking 2nd (208.3 YPG) in the conference to Coastal’s 9th ranked rushing defense. Coastal’s also surrendered 410 rushing yards combined in their last 2 games. On the other side of it, Appalachian State ranks 4th in yards allowed per game and excels against the pass. They rank 1st in the conference allowing just 179.4 passing yards per game. Their defense won’t need to get many stops as App States offense will have no issue going up and down the field. This series also favors the Mountaineers, since joining the Sun Belt in 2017, App State is 4-1 vs Coastal Carolina.