Coastal Carolina vs App State Odds, Picks and Preview

• Coastal Carolina and App State face each other in a critical conference title on Wednesday night at 7:30pm on ESPN2
• Costal Carolina will be looking to extend it’s undefeated record to 7-0
• Read below for odds, a breakdown and picks on the game

#14 Coastal Carolina (6-0) travels to Boone, North Carolina for it’s most anticipated game of the season this week. It faces Appalachian State (4-2) Wednesday Night on ESPN2 at 7:30. It’s a critical Sun Belt matchup that has postseason implications for both teams.

The Chanticleers are looking to continue to build towards a New Year’s Six Bowl Game. For the most part, they have handled each team on their schedule. Owning the highest average margin of victory in College Football, they’ve won games by an average of 33 points. They are coming off a 52-20 thrashing of Arkansas State.

App State likely expected to have only one loss coming into this one. It’s the showcase of their schedule and could have even been bigger. Instead the Mountaineers got ambushed last week. They were three-point favorites on the road to Louisiana, only to lose 41-13. They’ll be looking for a big rebound here.

Coastal Carolina vs App State Odds

Before we get into the analysis of this one, there are a few Coastal Carolina vs App State betting trends to take note of:

• Coastal Carolina is 10-5 ATS it’s Last Five Seasons against a team that averages more than 7.9 yards per passing attempt
• Coastal Carolina is 5-2 ATS it’s Last Two Seasons against a team averaging more than 4.4 yards per rushing attempt

I think these are significant. Coastal Carolina fares well against efficient offenses, because they thrive in the shoot-out type games. This one has the making of exactly that.

App State Looking for Consistency

At times this season, the Mountaineers have looked dominant. Two weeks ago, even though they only won by one-point, it appeared like their offense couldn’t be stopped. They scored 31 points against Marshall and racked up more than 550 yards of offense. But then you have games like you did last week.

Oftentimes, too much can be made about one game. Yet things were so bad last week, that you have to wonder if a blueprint of sorts was set.

CAJUNS WIN!!! 🤟🔥

Louisiana 41
App State 13#GeauxCajuns pic.twitter.com/yw9l3E7vmZ

— UL Lafayette (@ULLafayette) October 13, 2021

The Cajuns came in to this week with their opponents averaging more than 5.8 yards per play. App State could only get to 3.8 yards per play. Its offense looked lost and a far cry of what we would have seen throughout most of the season.

For a team predicated on putting up points, scoring 13 is bad enough. Yet when you look at the deeper numbers, it gets worse. Its offense had a success rate of 18%, its explosiveness rate was .60. Both of these numbers were well below its success average. Both these numbers you’d expect to be high, especially something like explosiveness rate, a thing the Mountaineer offense is built on.

App State fan disappointed with how his team lost: pic.twitter.com/PGKA8Mzcdj

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 13, 2021

More consistency starts with Clemson Quarterback transfer Chase Brice. He has the third-best QBR in the conference, and his completion percentage of 66% is also third-best in the country – but then you have games like last week, where the ball floats or he locks in on receivers.

Brice finished with two interceptions and was just 15/27 on 135 yards passing. I’ve written about Brice before and been impressed. Yet the Mountaineers will need more consistency from him if they want to win.

Grayson McCall Is the Real Deal

Here’s a few numbers for Coastal Carolina Quarterback Grayson McCall to consider: 79.8%. That’s his completion percentage. No Quarterback in FBS has finished with a number that high since at least 2009. The closest to it was last season as Alabama Quarterback Mac Jones finished with a completion rate of 77.4%.

His yards per attempt are also at 13.6 – an insane number. Again, not a single Quarterback in FBS has finished with a number that high since at least 2009.

Grayson McCall is an absolute STUD:

🎯 92.1 Passing Grade (1st)
🎯 152.3 Passer Rating (1st) pic.twitter.com/4JGy20By0L

— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 8, 2021

Much is made about the Coastal Carolina schedule and it’s for a good reason. The Chanticleers are in the Sun Belt conference. The only Power Five opponent they’ve faced this season is Kansas and they are, well, Kansas.

But it feels like in the process we’ve discounted too heavily how impressive McCall has been. He’ll likely be putting up another show against the Mountaineers 79th ranked passing defense.

Prediction

I have to back Coastal Carolina here and it’s pretty simple.

With Chanticleers coming off a bye week, I expect them to be locked in. Even if it is a Wednesday night game. The advantage that they have behind center will prove far too much for App State to overcome. I don’t think the Mountaineers can put up enough points to hang with them. Gimme the Chanticleers.

• Pick Coastal Carolina -3.5 (-110)