South Carolina’s 51-7 win over Coastal on Saturday was much like watching the Chants loss at Old Dominion earlier this year. It was over fast, and the final score was ugly.
The Gamecocks hit paydirt on their first play from scrimmage, ran out to a 20-0 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, 37-0 at halftime, and cruised to an easy victory.
In this column last week and in the radio hit I did on Thursday with Columbia’s 107.5 The Game, I wrote and said that many things needed to go right for Coastal (6-5, 5-2) to have a chance to win. Of course, none of them happened, but what was most deflating was the total lack of competitiveness shown by CCU.
Yes, the Chants didn’t have Samari Collier out there and yes, an already struggling defense was down several key players due to suspension. Obviously, all that hurt Coastal’s efforts to stay in the game and perhaps even win.
But this team just wasn’t competitive at any point in this football game and that’s what is most disturbing. That is also a trend in CCU losses the last two seasons.
Going into Saturday’s regular season finale against James Madison, Coastal has lost 12 games in 2024 and 2025. The average margin of defeat in all those games is 25 points, and in six of those games the final margin of defeat has been an eye-popping 29 points or higher.
Additionally, in only two of those games was Coastal either tied with or within single digits of their opponents in the fourth quarter. Getting consistently blown out is not a characteristic of a championship program or even a winning one.
So we move on from South Carolina and into this weekend’s contest with the aforementioned Dukes (10-1, 7-0). JMU has beaten Coastal by 40, 42 and 32 points since they joined the league. The Chants are an astonishing 21.5-point home underdog to a conference opponent but maybe it shouldn’t be surprising at all.
James Madison has a defense ranked in the top 11 nationally in a number of major categories, they have perhaps the two best players in the conference in quarterback Alonza Barnett III and running back Wayne Knight, they have a ton of momentum right now as they are pushing for a CFP berth and they have owned the Chants since coming into the league. Painful to write but nonetheless true.
What does Coastal have to do to have a chance? I could waste a bunch of words and characters on analysis, but if they don’t do anything else I want to see Coastal do one thing: compete. Find a way to make life tough for JMU. Show some competitive spirit, edge, fight, whatever out there. Win or lose. This is a character and culture game. We’ll see what is revealed on that front early Saturday evening.
Tad Hudson will apparently be the starter, and if so, then this game represents the biggest opportunity of his CCU career. A chance to prove doubters wrong and lead Coastal to what would be their best win in the Tim Beck era. On the other side, the defense will have to find a way to get stops and slow down a JMU offense that averages 445 yards and 36 ppg.
Saturday’s kickoff at 3:45 will also likely have the smallest crowd of the season, given the holiday weekend and with many students on break. Hopefully, those who are there will provide spirit and energy, pulling the Chants through.
Speaking of holidays, Thanksgiving is upon us and I am certainly thankful for many things. I hope those of you reading this are as well. Spend time with your families, eat well, watch football and give thanks for your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving to you and…
CHANTS UP!
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