Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs Coastal Carolina (3-3, 2-1 Sun Belt)
Saturday, October 18th, 2025 3:30pm EST
TV/Video: ESPN+
Radio: FLAGSHIP 97.3 FM (North Wilkesboro), 730 AM & 97.5 FM (Charlotte), 950 AM & 92.7 FM (Greensboro), 980 AM & 96.7 FM (Winston-Salem), 107.7 FM & 1450 AM (Hendersonville), 97.3 FM & 790 AM (Johnson City, TN) 87.7 FM (In-Stadium)
Kidd Brewer Stadium
Capacity: 30,000
Surface: AstroTurf
Jeff Sagarin Ratings
App State: 58.09
Coastal Carolina: 53.05
Home: 4.99
App State is favored by the Sagarin ratings by .05 points
VegasInsider Consensus: App State -10.5
Series: App State leads 7-4
Last Meeting: Coastal Carolina 38 App State 24, November 7, 2024, Conway SC
Winning a couple games in a row really makes you feel good, especially after a winning a road conference game. The Mountaineers now have the opportunity to match last years win total after just the seventh game in front of a homecoming crowd. The weather trends look immaculate. The leaves have held on for dear life since the last home game two weeks ago and alumni gatherings are itching to get started. The only way to cap off what might be a perfect weekend is to dispose of the opponent like Holly Farms would have. The Mountaineers have had trouble with that recently, allowing that school close to the beach to win three games in a row in this series. The Mountaineers have turned the ball over in those games at unfortunate times. Sometimes, it has felt like this game has meant more to those folks than it does ours. Whether the fans in black and gold want to recognize it or not, we must match that same intensity. The Kidd Brewer faithful was a major factor against Oregon State, and they will need to answer when their number is called again.
A lot of what you see from Coastal Carolina is exactly what you get. They have played in a lot of lopsided ball games. Sometimes they were the hammer. Other times they were the nail. The Chanticleers have alternated wins and losses all season, and last week they were able to claim a 23-8 victory in the driving Conway rain. It was the second most points that Coastal had scored in a game this year. The Chants limited UL-Monroe to converting just once on thirteen times on third down, but most importantly, their ground game was decent enough to keep the Warhawks off the field. They ran for 277 yards. In their win over South Alabama, a similar script was followed. Coastal ran for 182 yards, but were efficient, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. However Jaguars turned the ball over three times, repeatedly giving Coastal short fields in which they capitalized. Those three turnovers led to 17 points, including a fumble return touchdown that provided the final margin. South Alabama gifted that game in the second half, allowing 31 points after holding a 14-7 edge at halftime. In the three losses on the season, Coastal was outscored 133-14 by Virginia, East Carolina and Old Dominion. They were never in those games, as they were heavily outgained in terms of total offense.
Coastal Carolina provides another test for the Mountaineer defense as they also play two quarterbacks regularly. Looking at statistics, they don’t exactly pop off the page. Tad Hudson has played in every game, but mostly against East Carolina, Old Dominion and South Alabama. He had twenty-five passing attempts or more in each of those games, and threw for 172 yards or less in all three. Hudson averages a paltry 4.33 yards per attempt on those passes, while completing 54% of them. MJ Morris played against Virginia and Charleston Southern and threw for 256 yards with four interceptions and no touchdown passes. We have not seen him play in a month, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him out there at some point. Samari Collier has played in four games, and most recently, had his biggest success last week in the 23-8 win over UL-Monroe. He only threw the ball for 37 yards on 5/15 passing, but found room in the run game, with twelve carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. These Coastal quarterbacks are facilitators of their offense. They are not game managers in the passing quarterback sense, which is quite evident, but if they can be disrupted while trying to execute the run game, then they will struggle.
The Mountaineers rolled to 17-0 score quickly against Oregon State two weeks ago, and did the exact same to Georgia State last week. A 17-0 halftime score was made possible by two JJ Kohl touchdown passes and a Dominic De Freitas field goal as time expired in the first half. Two more touchdowns were added in the third quarter before Georgia State found the scoreboard, but at that point, the game was over. Overall, another game without a turnover, and the Mountaineers managed a season low in penalties . Kohl finished with four touchdown passes in just under three quarters of play, while the uncoverable App State tight ends caught ten total passes with Izayah Cummings leading the Mountaineers with 6 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Rashod Dubinion was held to season low twelve carries for 56 yards, but he exited the game in the second half and did not return. That allowed Jaquari Lewis to tote the ball fourteen times for 57 yards along with a score. Dubinion is up to 667 yards at the midway point of the season, while Izayah Cummings is now tied with Jaden Barnes for the team lead in receptions.
A lot of emphasis this season has been on the App State offense, and what they can do to win games. The marked improvement from last season to now has come from the defensive side of the ball, and there might not be a bigger game on the schedule to date where the defense will be called on to be great. Everyone has seen how well the Mountaineers are at stopping the run, albeit against some team they do not have great records. All you need to do is watch with your eyes, and you can tell it is different. Coastal Carolina is not a team that is going to run a lot of plays on offense with hopes to wear you down, but they will try to keep you unbalanced and make you operate well in gaps. Their offense isn’t flashy, but it will annoy you. They don’t mind covering ground in short steps, as their passing game rarely pushes the ball downfield with success, but will be happy to take a five yard gain when they can. In terms of total yardage, they are averaging 289.7 yards per game, which 128th out of 134 teams, and they have scored just nine offensive touchdowns. Only three teams have scored fewer touchdowns. So why is there so much concern? Because last week, even in the pouring rain, Coastal had a 15-play drive that went for 70 yards, and ate up just over 6 minutes of clock to open the game. The Chants only got a field goal out of that drive, but it ate the defense alive. Monroe, didn’t realize it at the time, but they were starting to die a slow death. You simply cannot allow any Coastal team to get a sniff of confidence. They feed off that energy and when they play in front of the chains, they become more dangerous. That’s why the start of this game and the first couple drives for both teams are very important. Since both teams value a quick start in different fashions, it makes for an interesting chess game. Yet, if Coastal continues to struggle putting the ball in the end zone they will be in trouble. If the Chanticleers can find their way to scoring on five possessions, somewhere to 23-27 points, they might give themselves a chance with the way their offense could eat up some clock. Anything less than scoring 20 points would make it tough to the Chanticleers to pull through.
The First Pick
Conway Cockadoos 19
Mountaineers 34