Saturday night’s 13-0 win over Charleston Southern is still ugly after watching it a second time. Missed opportunities, penalties, turnovers and in my opinion, a general lack of confidence and belief in the offensive game plan severely limited Coastal’s ability to move the football and put points on the board.
The defense played well, as I think they have done in two games now. Special teams were all right. No real gaffes to speak of, both field goals converted, punting was outstanding with Sebafundi averaging 51 per on three punts. After further review, I’ll give Bryson Graves some ground on not fielding the first CSU punt, one that traveled 82 yards and completely flipped the field. That punt was a rocket, flying 68 yards in the air and if you’re a punt return guy, you’re probably not expecting that on the opponent’s first punt. He’s young in that position and still learning it.
After the first two games, the focal point of attention is on the offensive woes so let’s look at some numbers to see if they confirm what our eyes have told us. Checking the stats of the 134 FBS teams at https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs, Coastal’s offensive rankings are: scoring offense-129, total offense-T103, rushing offense-66 (not bad there), passing offense-114, 3rd down conversions-117, turnover margin-130 (6 TO’s given up, 1 gained), and team passing efficiency-131. Not good to say the least.
Additionally, of Coastal’s 15 penalties committed in two games, 10 have been on the offensive side of the ball. It’s not a pretty picture and as head coach Tim Beck talked about Wednesday in his midweek press conference, it’s about more than just one or two players not being effective.
However the focal point of any offense, and often the football team itself, is the quarterback. MJ Morris hasn’t looked comfortable at all, nor has he been effective. Tad Hudson gave the team a spark in the second half against CSU, even though they really didn’t ask him to do a lot. He didn’t turn it over and led the only Chanticleer touchdown drive of the game.
Indications are that Hudson will start this Saturday night against East Carolina, as I believe he should. Personally, I’d love to see what Samari Collier can do if given the chance. I remain convinced Coastal has talented and experienced players and good coaches on that side of the ball.
OC Drew Holllingshead was brought to Coastal to revamp and improve the offense after it was very mediocre in 2024. So far, for whatever reason, that hasn’t happened. The numbers are much worse in fact.
Maybe Hudson will ignite this offense, the Chants will move the football and put points on the board. They’ll look like a competent college football offense. That’s the hope.
But if that doesn’t happen, then I think we can only conclude the issues go much deeper than the quarterback. And if those issues aren’t fixed that could be disastrous facing the rest of the 2025 schedule.
GO CHANTS!