The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers breezed to a 41-24 Sun Belt Conference opening victory against Georgia State on Thursday. CCU controlled the game from the start moving to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in league action.
Quarterback Grayson McCall led the Chanticleers offense to 540 total yards on the road. Coastal ran for 272 yards on the ground while adding another 268 yards in the air. McCall would finish the game 19-for-27 for 268 yards and two touchdown passes. He added another 38 yards on the ground and a rushing score.
Jared Brown had a career game with 129 receiving yards off of five catches and finding the endzone twice. Sam Pinckney, who played for Georgia State from 2018-2021, led the Chants in receptions for the game. He would haul in seven catches for 77 yards in his return to Atlanta.
The ground attack consisting of CJ Beasley, Jared Brown, and Nate Hope II helped lead the rushing game that totaled 272 yards. Beasley led the way with 142 yards on the ground off a career high 25 carries. Hope II found the endzone for his first career rushing touchdown as a Chant and Brown added 27 yards on the ground.
Coastal struck early and often to set the tone for the game. McCall hit Brown on the left side of the field as he went untouched for 50 yards to put CCU up 7-0 on the first offensive play of the game. McCall would find Brown again on the next offensive possession for a 53-yard score to go up 14-0. After a Panthers score to make it 14-7, McCall would lead a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a rushing touchdown from the quarterback. Coastal added two field goals in the 2nd quarter to take a 27-17 halftime lead.
The second half featured a pair of rushing touchdowns from Nate Hope II and Jarrett Guest as CCU would go on for the 41-24 victory. The Chants’ defense would force four turnovers in the game, giving them 14 on the season.
Coastal Carolina (4-0, 1-0 SBC) will return home to host Georgia Southern (2-1, 0-0 SBC) for Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 1. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. EST.
