The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and Jacksonville State Gamecocks will face off on Thursday in Jacksonville, Alabama. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
The Gamecocks are currently 2.5-point home favorites in a game with a total of 54.5 points (-108/-112).
Let’s take a look at my Coastal Carolina vs. Jacksonville State prediction and best bet for Thursday night’s matchup.
Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Prediction
- Coastal Carolina vs. Jacksonville State Pick: Jacksonville State Alt Line -5.5 (+142)
My Coastal Carolina vs. Jacksonville State best bet is on the Gamecocks to cover the alternate line of 5.5.
Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Odds
| Coastal Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3.5 -115 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | +140 |
| Jacksonville State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3.5 -105 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | -165 |
- Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Point Spread: Coastal Carolina +3.5 (-115) · Jacksonville State -3.5 (-105)
- Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Total: Over/Under 54.5
- Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Moneyline: Coastal Carolina +140 · Jacksonville State -165
Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Preview
Coastal Carolina Preview
Coastal Carolina sprung into national relevance in 2020 under Jamey Chadwell with Grayson McCall at starting quarterback. Now both of them are gone as Tim Beck will start his second year and be tasked to replace McCall at quarterback.
The starting quarterback for the Chanticleers hasn't been announced yet and isn’t expected to be named until Thursday. The two candidates are Michigan State transfer Noah Kim and last year’s backup Ethan Vasko.
Coastal returns six starters on both sides of the ball this year. It does return each of its top two rushers, as well as Vasko, who may not get playing time if Kim is indeed the starter.
The Chanticleers will need to replace their top two receivers and both guards.
Defensively, the Chanticleers will need to replace their top three tacklers. Their returning experience is sprinkled at all three levels of the defense, while they also have some transfers filling in. This unit ranked just 102nd in Success Rate last season but was 70th against the pass and 20th in passing PPA allowed.
Stopping the run wasn't a strong suit for Coastal Carolina (113th in Success Rate), which may be an issue against the run-heavy attack it'll face from Jacksonville State.
Jacksonville State Preview
Jacksonville State made the transition to FBS last year and posted a 9-4 record. Rich Rodriguez’s squad will look to repeat the success and compete for a C-USA title this season, but it'll be hard to do without much of its team coming back.
Jacksonville State returns just five starters on offense and four on defense. Logan Smothers is projected to start at quarterback for the Gamecocks, but they'll likely be running multiple quarterbacks out there.
Smothers started four games last season and threw for 735 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
Jacksonville State does bring back three starters on an offensive line that ranks 22nd in PFF run blocking grade and 26th in PFF pass blocking grade a season ago.
This run-heavy unit will be replacing its top two rushers, however, as it'll need to replace the 1,304 yards gained on the ground between Malik Jackson and Zion Webb. They ran last season 63% of the time, which was the sixth-highest rate in FBS.
The Gamecocks return just one of their top six tacklers from a defense that ranked 13th in Success Rate and 26th in finishing drives last season. They were fourth in Rushing Success Rate and third in rushing PPA allowed, so we’ll see if they'll be able to replicate that success with some new names on this side of the ball.
My Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Prediction
Jacksonville State should still have a strong offensive line and rushing attack, as that's what Rodriguez is known for. This was the main weakness for Coastal last season, and I think it'll struggle to stop the rushing attack in this game as well.
There's a bit more unknown on the other side, with the Chanticleers' quarterback situation and the Gamecocks losing production on defense. However, this was a good unit last year, and I think it'll be able to have success in this matchup.
I love playing alt lines early in the season as there's much more unknown with both teams involved. That leads to more of a wide distribution spread that the derivatives markets don’t account for.
My best bet on this game is taking Jacksonville State at -5.5, as I believe it could win this game by at least a touchdown. At +142, this is a bet I’m willing to take.
Pick: Jacksonville State -5.5 (+142 · Play to +130)
How to Watch Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Live: Start Time, TV Channel, Location
| Location: | AmFirst Stadium, Jacksonville, Alabama |
| Date: | Thursday, Aug. 29 |
| Kickoff Time: | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | CBS Sports Network |
Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Betting Trends
- Of all bets on Coastal Carolina vs. Jacksonville State, 65% of the bets are on Jacksonville State, while 87% of the money has landed on the Gamecocks.
- From a total perspective, 55% of bets have landed on the under, and 68% of the money is on the total to go under.
