Coastal Carolina came into the game with a mindset of putting points on the board and scoring more than ODU. This is the formula for how you win football games outside of winning the turnover battle and winning the TOP (Time Of Possession). One thing is sure: the number of penalties wasn’t on either scouting report, which is a weakness. Coastal Carolina would overcome 15 penalties for 145 yards against ODU. Given that the game was like being on a roller coaster, Coastal was able to send ODU back to Virginia with a record of 1-4 on the year.

ODU came into the game with an up-and-down season, only being able to notch out a win against Bowling Green. ODU would take the lead in the fourth quarter against South Carolina with 9:54 left five weeks ago but could not hold it. To this point, ODU has been trying to establish an identity. Are they a running team? A passing team? Etc… On this night, they were both, but could not leave Conway, South Carolina, victorious on this night.

The Chanticleers would kick-off to start the game. ODU tried to establish the run early with three straight runs, but Coastal forced them to punt the ball on their first drive. After a couple more drives by each team, resulting in punts, ODU would finally break through with a 10-yard pass from quarterback Colton Joseph to Bryce Duke to move ahead 7-0 with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing drive for Coastal, Head Coach Tim Beck and staff would dig deep into the bag of tricks to pull out a flea flicker that would result in a 46-yard gain to Cameron Wright from Ethan Vasko. This would place CCU at the eight-yard line. After a couple of penalties halted the drive, moving CCU out of the red zone, Vasko would eventually find CCU Tight End Cane Berrong for an 8-yard score, tying the game 7-7 with 45 seconds to go in the first quarter.

With 4:26 left in the 2nd quarter, Coastal would find itself down 17-7 and racking up the penalty yardage. With 1:48 left in the first half, Coastal would get some momentum back on their side after forcing a fumble that was returned for a scoop and score TD by Juan Powell of 23 yards. This was Coastal Carolina’s third fumble recovery for a TD this season. Fun Fact: (Anytime CCU has gained any yardage with a fumble recovery, It has gone for a TD.) Coastal Carolina would take a lead at the half by a score of 21-17.

In the third quarter, the Chanticleers inflated their lead to 35-17 with 3:08 left after a pair of Braydon Bennett rushing touchdowns.

The fourth quarter would get unsettling for CCU, racking up the penalty yardage and letting ODU trim the lead down 45-37 with 29 seconds left in the game, but an unsuccessful onside attempt by ODU would seal the deal for Coastal. With a final score of 45-37, the Chanticleers are now 5-3 in Sun Belt Conference openers since joining.

The Chanticleers will look to keep the ball rolling against the toughest of opponents when they travel to take on James Madison this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Both teams are 4-1 on the season, and CCU will look to improve its top-10 national ranking of over 20 plays that have gone for 20 yards or more.

Written By: Joshua Petry

*This Article Contains Affiliate Links*

For More Articles Like This, Please Visit https://sportsnerdz.com/