Coastal Carolina vs Kansas Odds and Predictions

• No. 17 Coastal Carolina plays host to Kansas in a nonconference game Friday at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN2
• Coastal Carolina jumped five spots in the AP poll this week after a 52-14 home rout of the Citadel; Kansas broke a  13-game losing streak in a 17-14 home victory over FCS South Dakota in the season opener
• See the odds, analysis of the line and preview of the game below

No. 17 Coastal Carolina (1-0) will seek its third straight victory over Kansas when the two meet in Conway, S.C., on Friday at 7:30 pm on ESPN2. The Chanticleers won in Lawrence in each of the last two seasons by a combined score of 50-30.

Coach Lance Leipold won his Kansas (1-0)  debut when the Jayhawks drove 64 yards in 11 plays to score the winning touchdown with 1:10 remaining against South Dakota. Leipold was hired the day before Kansas held its spring game following the dismissal of Les Miles.

Coastal Carolina vs Kansas Odds

Odds as of Sept 9th at FanDuel

Coastal Carolina and Kansas entered the season on opposite paths. The Chanticleers were 11-1 in 2020, their 11-game winning streak snapped in a 37-34 overtime loss to Liberty in  the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. The Jayhawks were 0-9 last season,  Miles’ second and final year.

Coastal Carolina Rising

The Chanticleers have been ranked in the AP poll for 13 consecutive weeks, including in the 2021 preseason poll, a first in the 19-year history of the program – its fourth in the FBS.

All-Sun Belt sophomore quarterback Grayson McCall led the Sun Belt in total offense (277.9 yards per game) in 2020 and is one of nine returning starters. McCall’s peripherals a year ago stood out – 68.8 completion percentage and 26 touchdowns against three interceptions. He also rushed for 569 yards in coach Jamey Chadwell’s RPO system. Tight end Isaiah Likely and wideout Jaivon Heiligh are NFL prospects.

2022 NFL Draft Prospect: Its no secret how talented Isaiah likely TE Coastal Carolina is and what he brings. Look for him to have a big year! @DaGorilla4 pic.twitter.com/vIEDHWnDal

— Robert Cardona (@CARDONAFAM29) May 16, 2021

McCall passed for 266 yards and the Chanticleers rushed for 268 yards against overmatched The Citadel in the season opener. In the 38-23 victory over Kansas last year,  McCall threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. The Jayhawks had three first-half turnovers and trailed 28-3 at half.

Kansas Starts Anew

North Texas transfer quarterback Jason Bean completed 17 of 26 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns without an interception against South Dakota. Bean accounted for 54 of the Jayhawks’ 82 yards rushing. Kansas limited South Dakota to 252 yards total offense, 154 on the ground.

They have 12 Division I transfers, including six from Buffalo, where Leipold was 37-33 as the head coach the last six seasons.

Kansas has had five full-time head coaches since 2009 and has not had a winning record since Mark Mangino’s 2008 team finished 8-5 and won the Insight Bowl. The previous year, Mangino capped the first 12-win season in program history with an Orange Bowl victory and a No. 7 ranking in the AP poll.

The Jayhawks have not won more than five games in season since Mangino’s final year in 2009.

By the Numbers

The Chanticleers has won and covered in its previous two games against Kansas, winning 38-23 as a six-point underdog in 2020 and 12-7 as a seven-point underdog in 2019. The Jayhawks were 1-7-1 against the number covering as a 26.5-point number in a 16-13 loss to Texas Tech in the final game of the regular season. They failed to cover as an 11.5-point against South Dakota.

We've put the Turnover Cloak through its paces the past 2 games against the Jayhawks.#STRIKETHESTONE | #BEL1EVE | #TEALNATION pic.twitter.com/pPgKBu1jWa

— Coastal Football (@CoastalFootball) September 8, 2021

Coastal Carolina was 8-3-1 ATS last season, failing to cover the final two games against Troy and Liberty. The Chanticleers were 5-7 overall and 8-5 ATS in 2019, winning four of their final six against the number. They have covered twice as a 25.5-point favorite twice in the last three seasons but did not cover the 28-point number in a 43-21 victory over Campbell in 2020.

Coastal was over the total in five of its last six, including the blowout of The Citadel.  Kansas was 7-1-1 over in 2020 but was under in the 2021 opener.

The Chanticleers can use the national ESPN stage to continue their ascent in the AP poll in the first home game against a Power Five team in program history.

• The Pick: Coastal Carolina -25.5 (-110)