Coastal Carolina vs. NC A&T SU Gameday Thread

[WestCoastAggie]

This game is shaping up to be a really good early season test for both teams.

Here is an article from BlueDeathValley's Craig Turner about the upcoming game:


So now with game under their belts, A&T went back to work this week to prepare for their biggest challenge yet under Rod Broadway as fourth ranked Coastal Carolina comes into town Saturday night for the Aggies home opener.

The Chanticleers made it to the quarterfinals a year ago before hitting a brick wall against national champion North Dakota State. CCU has dispatched MEAC champion Bethune Cookman for straight years in the playoffs and has had South Carolina State’s number as well in head to head matchups which are always closely contested games.

A&T and CCU teams did not play in 2013 and 2-3 of the previous three wins by CCU over the Aggies came during the NCAA probation period. The last time the two teams met in 2012 with CCU coming out with a 29-13 win as the Aggies fielded just 29 scholarship athletes and were limited to three days of full practice each week during that season.

This is not to say that magically the tables have suddenly been turned. They haven’t. CCU is every bit as legit as their national ranking would suggest, one of the better teams in the FCS. With that being said, CCU is far from being considered in the unbeatable category like a North Dakota State.

The team from Conway, SC is a 12-point favorite in the game which is about the same margin of victory that they had against A&T in 2012. Every year is different and so is every football team. This one will come down to who will convert big plays and defends with discipline and purpose.

My head tells me it will be CCU because they have been there before. But A&T has surprised people in the past against some huge odds. If you don’t believe it, ask Appalachian State.

The Chants are better than they were two years ago and the Aggies are showing they are on the path to being a much better team in 2014 than fans ever thought. Just how much better? Enough to take this matchup into unchartered waters by the fourth quarter and make it interesting against the fourth ranked team in the nation.


http://bluedeathvalley.proboards.com/thread/10441/cts-column-9-6-14

Personally, A&T will have to prevent Coastal Carolina's QB Alex Ross from spreading the ball around. If Ross has time, he can pick apart just about any FCS defense out there. However, A&T and their fantastic Offensive Line will be able to run the ball on just about anyone also.

It will be fun to watch. A&T hasn't hosted a team ranked as high as Coastal Carolina since the 90's. We are anticipating a great crowd and the Blue & Gold Marching Machine will be great as always.

If you are looking to stream the game, A&T has a stream of the game which will be free all season. Just head to ncataggies.com sign up for the stream.

[bodoyle]

Hey westocast. Thought I would post mine on here too if that's alright. I know you guys at BDV loved it ;)

Thoughts on last week’s game:
Some of us made the trip down to Charleston to support the Chants and there were 2 or 3 busses of students that went as well. They were great the entire game as they never sat down. I’ll give them credit, after the first quarter, they followed our “you can’t do that” chant with the beeping noise of a truck in reverse. Points for creativity. Overall I think we were, as expected, not a polished performance by any means, but good enough to get the job done relatively easily. There is always room for improvement. One area that I noticed was in the second half, Alex was staring down his target for one entire series. One pass was almost picked off, and the other two quick passes/laterals went for no gain or a loss of yardage. If he stares down his targets against a better team, we could pay for it ala Aramis Hillary. Thankfully I don’t think there were any injuries other than Hop and one other player cramping up in the second half, but both players returned to the game. *EDIT* As of 9/4 Imir Sanders a DB is having his knee looked at and might be out.

Preview:
This is the second game of the year for both teams. Coastal’s second road game and A&T’s home opener, so expect a lively crowd…for a while. The Aggie offense runs through their QB, Kwashaun Quick, and their speedy Sophomore RB Tarik Cohen who rushed for 1,100+ yards last year after taking over in Week 5 as the starter.
NC A&T was on ESPN earlier this week and I watched the game (ugly as it was) as they beat Alabama A&M quite handily. A few things I noticed were (I only watched intently for the first half since it was 38-7 at that point):
* The defensive line was doing a pretty poor job of tackling, and overall their whole team seemed to either arm tackle or go for the big knock out hit and not wrap up the guy with the ball.
* Their main defensive scheme was a 4-2-5 – I believe that is the same scheme that CCU runs – if I’m right, I would expect Coach Patenaude to know how to exploit it.
* On the other side of the ball, they also run a similar style with Quick almost always in the shotgun with the read option. Hopefully our defense has had plenty of time to work on that going against Ross who runs it much better with much more talented skill players around him.
* One area I think could really benefit the CCU offense is starting field position. The kickoffs from A&T (and there were plenty of them) hardly ever went inside the 10yd line and I saw multiple ones where the A&M return man was starting from between the 15-20yd line. If that’s the case this week, Devin could have a field day.
* A&T did do some good things and has some speedy players. Their OL did open up some huge holes for both Quick and Cohen. Cohen is very speedy and if he gets into the open field it’s going to be hard to catch up to him. The key will be to stop him before he gets going (Captain Obvious). Their kick returner, #21 took one to the house as well and he was pretty darn fast too. I wouldn’t be opposed to pooching it down there and making someone else field the ball.

Past History with the team and Conference:
CCU is 3-0 all-time vs NC A&T outscoring them 88-24 (29-13 in 2012, 31-14 in 2011, and 28-7 in 2009).
I believe that we are 16-1 all-time versus MEAC schools with our only loss coming at Delaware State in the 2007 season opener 23-18. ** Correction we're actually 4-0 against A&T beating them 20-7 in an ugly game in Greensboro in 2008. (Thanks Cap'n). We have defeated Bethune-Cookman the previous two years in the first round of the FCS Playoffs by a combined score of 72-38 (24-14 at Bethune, and 48-24 at home). Unfortunately we play two more MEAC schools this year which is two too many for me. I don’t mind playing SC State because it’s normally a good game and a good crowd, but I am really getting tired of MEAC schools.

Common Opponents from previous year:
Last year both teams played Elon, and SC State. A&T lost to both teams in relatively close games. CCU defeated both teams, playing SC State close at their place, and blowing out Elon on the road 53-28.

Statistical Breakdown:
On defense the Aggies put up some impressive numbers allowing less than 300yards/game (277.9), BUT this was against a strength of schedule ranked 230th out of 253 teams. As a point of reference CCU had the 171st ranked schedule last year, and when we played A&T in 2012 when they had the top pass defense, we put up 437yds (274 through the air, 163 on the ground). Quick was not their starting QB last year, but A&T was a run first team last year and is this year too.

Offensive Player of the Game:
This past week it goes to Bruce Mapp for the 10 catches (should have been 11, but the ref called him out of bounds), 108 yards and a score. Honorable Mention to Hop who had 88 yards and a score. I don’t remember what quarter it was, but he was one on one with a Citadel defender and made one sick move and the kid was grabbing air. Can’t wait to see what he brings the rest of the year.
This week, if it was a tight game, it would be Ross, but I don’t see that happening, so I’m going with Hop. I think he will continue to be the Player of the Games until we play a team that can 1) cover our WRs one on one and help in the box, and 2) realize CCU isn’t a one trick pony on offense and they can’t drop back and try to force Alex to make a mistake because he isn’t going to do it. He’s too damn smart.

Defensive Player of the Game:
Last week it goes to Quinn Backus. 14 tackles, 9 of them solo, and 2 forced fumbles. The kid is a beast, it doesn’t matter what type of offense you run, he will wreak havoc on you one way or another. Honorable Mention to Colton Blackburn who had 9 tackles, 8 solo.
This week, I see NC A&T falling behind and throwing most of the second half. The D-Line will be pinning their ears back for the final 30 minutes. Sampson could get a few picks or Hollenhorst might get a few coverage sacks.

Prediction:
Ross picks apart the defense with his arms and legs. I say he combines for 310 yards, and sits towards the end of the game. Hop busts a few big ones, maybe gets 90-110yds and two touchdowns. The defense stacks the box, forces Quick to beat us with his arm and he can’t…CCU rolls 45-13.

[WestCoastAggie]

Bump.

[WileECoyote06]

I'll be tuning in, and I hope A&T has gotten some better practice out of their secondary. If they can keep Coastal off the board early, and force a turnover or two, they could pull off the upset. Generally teams are ranked because they are that good. Coastal is a 15.5 point favorite on Massey; but I'm not willing to go that high; and I think the A&T run game is legit. I'm calling 42 - 31 and giving CCU the -11.

[rokamortis]

Not to tarnish the success of the Aggies 2013 season - but why do you guys keep propping up the App State win? They were 4-8 last year and only had one win over a team with a winning record. You may have surprised them, but the biggest surprise was they just weren't very good last year.

[citdog]

Not to tarnish the success of the Aggies 2013 season - but why do you guys keep propping up the App State win? They were 4-8 last year and only had one win over a team with a winning record. You may have surprised them, but the biggest surprise was they just weren't very good last year.


What's usc-aynor's record against them?

[WestCoastAggie]

Not to tarnish the success of the Aggies 2013 season - but why do you guys keep propping up the App State win? They were 4-8 last year and only had one win over a team with a winning record. You may have surprised them, but the biggest surprise was they just weren't very good last year.

They were the most well-known and established team we beat in a long time. At the time, we didn't realize their season was going down the toilet but result of the game was amazing to watch. Now if we beat you all, that would would be much bigger than the App. State game just due to you all being ranked in the top 5 of many polls.

[Beachdude]

I agree with Bodoyle's assessment. But I think the score might be slightly tighter. I think the Aggies running game is for real, and it will be a nice test of the Chant's D to see if they can stop Cohen and Quick. But I think Ross can pick apart the A&T D to keep the game out of reach.

[jmrepak]

I know it's either 0-2 or 3, but I also know they won the championship 3 times in a row back then, we were middle of the pack leading to a new coah, and their quarterback was excellent then and is now entering his 5th year in the NFL (with Da Bears I think). Comparing those games from over 3 years ago aren't as relevant as bringing up last year's game when many of this year's players were in the game. By the way, do you remember our record against ElCid.

[MTfan4life]

Holy sweet, 4 Coastal posters in here! This site is definitely dominated by the fans of just a small portion of all FCS teams. It's nice to see some more of your fans on here!!

Anyways, to not totally divert this thread...I think A&T has a decent chance in this game playing at home. Cohen is a fun running back to watch. Coastal, of course, has the talent advantage, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if they only won by single digits. It will be interesting to see the Aggie strategy to defend the high powered CCU offense.

[rokamortis]

What's usc-aynor's record against them?

I don't know.

Coastal's record is 0-fer against App. They beat us unmercifully each time we played. It has been ugly and I'll fully admit it. As jmrepak said - we mostly played them when they were a national championship powerhouse.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that they went 4-8 last year with one win over a team with a winning record.

[rokamortis]

They were the most well-known and established team we beat in a long time. At the time, we didn't realize their season was going down the toilet but result of the game was amazing to watch. Now if we beat you all, that would would be much bigger than the App. State game just due to you all being ranked in the top 5 of many polls.

We had a similar deal with JMU. We beat defending champs JMU and it was euphoric. But then JMU didn't quite live up to the hype. They weren't 4-8 but certainly weren't national champ material either.

I think we may be a big win for you but just because we are ranked high. But early seasons rankings mean crap, we really haven't earned it and if we lose today then we drop like a rock.

[rokamortis]

Holy sweet, 4 Coastal posters in here! This site is definitely dominated by the fans of just a small portion of all FCS teams. It's nice to see some more of your fans on here!!

Anyways, to not totally divert this thread...I think A&T has a decent chance in this game playing at home. Cohen is a fun running back to watch. Coastal, of course, has the talent advantage, but I wouldn't be overly surprised if they only won by single digits. It will be interesting to see the Aggie strategy to defend the high powered CCU offense.

I agree. The Aggies have a good shot today. Their explosive offense will be a real test of our defense. I'm not expecting their defense to give our offense too much trouble as we are balanced and should be able to counter their attacks, but if they figure out a way to slow us down then it will be a very long day for us.

[CoastalFan2005]

What's usc-aynor's record against them?

Same as the Bellhops' record against us - 0-fer.

[citdog]

Same as the Bellhops' record against us - 0-fer.

We have the great equalizer though. "At least we didn't have to attend coastal carolina."

[CoastalFan2005]

We have the great equalizer though. "At least we didn't have to attend coastal carolina."

Yeah, you certainly wouldn't want to attend a school that has girls that don't look like some dude named Larry, now, would you?

[citdog]

Yeah, you certainly wouldn't want to attend a school that has girls that don't look like some dude named Larry, now, would you?

In my day usc-aynor was a school nobody went to unless their options were either there or Trident Technical College. Your reputation has improved SLIGHTLY since then.

[WestCoastAggie]

CCU - 7
A&T - 7

2nd

CCU has 3 TO's

[Beachdude]

In my day usc-aynor was a school nobody went to unless their options were either there or Trident Technical College. Your reputation has improved SLIGHTLY since then.

Thumping Citadel has its benefits. Plus the girls here keep their figures with fresh seafood as opposed to Red Beans & Rice.

[WestCoastAggie]

Coastal 17
A&T 14

Half

[Beachdude]

Coastal - 24
NC A&T - 17

End of Third

[WestCoastAggie]

Coastal - 24
A&T - 30

4th Quarter

[WestCoastAggie]

Aggies botched the XP snap.

[Beachdude]

Turnovers killing Coastal today.

[WestCoastAggie]

CCU ran back the Kickoff 100 yards for the TD

[WestCoastAggie]

CCU - 31
A&T - 30

6:58 4th Qtr

[WestCoastAggie]

Both teams are playing hard. Cohen should be a Gary Payton Award candidate.

[WestCoastAggie]

CCU got a targeting penalty on the Kickoff. Honestly, the Aggie player Belcher was landing awkwardly but the CCU tackler was leading with his head.

[WestCoastAggie]

The Jet Sweep is not going to work. The MEAC needs to ban that play.

[WestCoastAggie]

Final

Coastal Carolina - 31
NC A&T SU - 30

Both teams deserve to be ranked. I can't see any team on either team's schedule beating them. This was a heartbreaker.

[eaglesdare]

That was rough, possible conference defining moment.

[Beachdude]

This game had me nervous all week. Aggies are a good team. I think Coastal took them too lightly, plus played some sloppy football at times with 5 turnovers. They were lucky to pull this one out.

[bodoyle]

Horrible game by CCU, 2 of the 5 turnovers inside the A&T 10 and we still manage to put up 31 and get the ugliest win in the history of football ;)

[WileECoyote06]

Final

Coastal Carolina - 31
NC A&T SU - 30

Both teams deserve to be ranked. I can't see any team on either team's schedule beating them. This was a heartbreaker.

Were already in my AGS rankings. Even I couldn't have predicted it being this close, but honestly if this isn't Top 25 worthy play, I don't know how else to put it. Rod Broadway is an outstanding coach.

Unfortunately, Coastal will lose spots rather than A&T moving up. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades but. . .

[WestCoastAggie]

Were already in my AGS rankings. Even I couldn't have predicted it being this close, but honestly if this isn't Top 25 worthy play, I don't know how else to put it. Rod Broadway is an outstanding coach.

Unfortunately, Coastal will lose spots whether than A&T moving up. Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades but. . .

If SC State could earn a top 10 ranking after holding South Carolina to 10 points in one half, A&T should be in the top 20-25 of ALL the polls this week. It was the craziest 31-30 game I've seen yet and only two good teams can have viewers on pins and needles all game.

I can't see anyone beating either of these teams in the regular season.

[WileECoyote06]

With a favorable schedule avoiding troublesome Norfolk and Bethune-Cookman; and playing SCSU in a neutral-site game and hosting wildcards Morgan St, and FAMU; I predict the Aggies will finish 10-2 (7-1) and win a share of the MEAC title.

Said this a few weeks ago. I still stand by it.

[citdog]

Cohen should be a Gary Payton Award candidate.


http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2009/01/16/2008638693.jpg

[DEX]

http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2009/01/16/2008638693.jpg



Perhaps there should be a Gary Payton award for the best smack talker? xthumbsupx