Important game in from the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division on Thursday night this week as Troy visits No. 24, Coastal Carolina. Which way to lean at BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks?
Troy Trojans vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Thursday, October 28, 2021 – 07:30 PM EDT at Brooks Stadium
ESPN2 has the telecast of Troy at No. 24 Coastal Carolina, which is huge in the Sun Belt’s East Division. These two schools, Georgia State and Appalachian State are all 2-1 in league play and tied for first in the East. Louisiana is running away with the West Division.
This will be the fifth meeting between Troy and Coastal Carolina as FBS foes. Last year, the Trojans were 12-point home underdogs on the NCAAF odds but covered in a 42-38 loss to the Chanticleers. Troy took a 38-35 lead with 1:20 left, but Chants star QB Grayson McCall quickly led his team down the field, hitting Jaivon Heiligh on a 23-yard TD pass with 35 seconds left. McCall completed 24 of 29 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns, while Heiligh caught 11 passes for 138 yards and two TDs.
Troy lost its starting QB, Gunnar Watson, in the fourth quarter to injury. Trojans linebacker Carlton Martial had quite the game with 21 tackles and an interception. The total has gone over in the previous four meetings.
Trojans Lose Starting WR
Troy (4-3, 2-1 Sun Belt), located in Alabama if you didn’t know, enters on a two-game winning streak following a 31-28 victory at Texas State on Oct. 16. The Bobcats’ three fourth-quarter possessions all ended with an interception, including one returned for a TD by cornerback Elijah Culp.
Trojans freshman running back Kimani Vidal rushed 25 times for 162 yards and two scores, including a 45-yard TD that gave Troy a 10-point lead in the third quarter. It was his first 100-yard game. QB Gunnar Watson, who recently replaced Taylor Powell as the starter, threw for 182 yards and a score.
Senior wideout Reggie Todd caught three balls for 26 yards but has been suspended indefinitely from the team following his arrest for hindering prosecution in relation to a shooting at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Todd was arrested “regarding the whereabouts of the Ladd-Peebles Stadium shooting suspect, Hezekiah Belfon,” according to the Mobile Police Department.
Five people were injured in the incident. Todd is from Mobile and ranks second on Troy season in receptions (21) and yards (291), along with one touchdown. His 105 career catches are 18th in school history.
Troy has two defensive stars who likely both will be first-team All-Sun Belt. One is sophomore end Richard Jibunor. He had two sacks in the win over Texas State, his third game of the year with multiple sacks and he also has at least one in five straight games.
He is just the fourth player in Sun Belt history to reach the eight-sack mark by the seventh game of the season. The other is junior linebacker Carlton Martial, who has 64 tackles, a sack, and a pick. His 46 career tackles for loss are the fourth-most in Sun Belt Conference history.
The Trojans are 15-7 ATS on NCAAF picks in their past 22 road games versus a team with a winning home record.
Coastal Not Used to Losing
We previewed Coastal Carolina’s game last Wednesday at Appalachian State and recommended the Mountaineers at +3.5. They upset the Chants 30-27 on a 24-yard field goal as time expired. Coastal (6-1, 2-1 Sun Belt) entered averaging 48.8 points, but it was outgained 575-346 and the offense struggled to protect QB Grayson McCall in the second half.
The 346 total yards of offense for the Chanticleers was a season-low (they had at least 450 in every previous game), while the 575 yards allowed were a season-high by an opponent. McCall was 15-for-23 for 291 yards and one touchdown. Jaivon Heiligh had six catches for 103 yards and Kameron Brown three catches for a CCU career-high 98 yards and a score. Running back Shemari Jones rushed for two touchdowns for the second time this season (also vs. The Citadel).
That means the Chants don’t control their own destiny to reach the Sun Belt title game. It snapped Coastal’s regular-season winning streak at 11 consecutive games. It also means there’s no chance that CCU will reach the College Football Playoff, although that was unlikely even with an unbeaten regular season. The Chants dropped from 14th in the AP Poll to 24th.
Bettors may want to pay close attention when Troy is putting, assuming the Trojans will do so. CCU’s special teams have blocked three punts this season and have returned two of those for touchdowns. The Chanticleers have three giveaways, while the Trojans have 17 takeaways.
Last year, Coastal didn’t suffer a loss until its bowl game, so this is the team’s first game in-season following a defeat since Nov. 30, 2019, versus Texas State. The Chants are 4-1 ATS in their past five after a loss.
Simulations that I have run have Coastal winning by 17 so we’ll take all those points.
NCAAF Pick: Troy at +19 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
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