Game: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Appalachian State Mountaineers
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Odds: Chanticleers -4.5, Mountaineers +4.5
Total: 60.5
Coming into the 2021 college football season, the Sun Belt Conference was going to be a three-team race between Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State, and Louisiana. Last week, it was the Ragin’ Cajuns that got the best of the Mountaineers in a 41-13 win at home. Now, Appalachian State is on its home turf with a chance to keep its conference title hopes alive against the No. 14 team in the nation, Coastal Carolina.
The Chanticleers have won 17 of their last 18 games. The only loss came at the hands of Liberty, 37-34, in last year’s FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. The Chanticleers have won 17 regular-season games in a row.
One of the big reasons why has to do with CCU quarterback Grayson McCall. The sophomore is completing a ridiculous 79.8 percent of his passes and he has thrown for 1,478 yards and 14 touchdowns. McCall doesn’t make many mistakes either. He has thrown just one interception all season.
With McCall’s leadership and the masterful play-calling of head coach Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina has the nation’s No. 2 offense. The Chants rank second in the nation in total offense averaging 541 yards per game and they also rank second in points per game – 48.2. Coastal ranks at or near the top in a number of other offensive statistical categories including third-down conversions. CCU converts 61.2 percent of its third down plays. That is the best in the country.
Appalachian State (4-2) was rolling along this season until last week when they ran into a fired up Louisiana squad. Mountaineers QB Chase Brice played his worst game of the season going 15-of-26 for just 133 yards. The worst part was he threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball away to the Ragin Cajuns once. If the Mountaineers are going to be successful tonight, they need Brice to get back on track.
One of the good things going for Appalachian State is their track record at home in Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineers are 19-1 in their last 20 games at home. They have been one of the best teams in the Sun Belt over the past few years winning 15 of their last 20 games overall.
What Appalachian State has not done very well over the past few seasons is cover the spread. The Mountaineers have covered in just six of their last 19 games. They are just 2-7 ATS in their last nine games against a Sun Belt Conference opponent.
Unlike the Mountaineers, Coastal Carolina has been a cover machine going 11-3-2 ATS in their last 16 games. They have also won their last seven road games in a row. With their high-scoring offense, Coastal Carolina trends toward the Over. The Over is 7-3 in the Chanticleers’ last ten games as the favorite. The Over is also 4-1 Coastal Carolina’s last five conference games. That said, the Under has hit in three of the team’s past four games.