It’ll be a mid-major battle the opening weekend of the college football season when the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers play host to the Eastern Michigan Eagles. Game time is set for 3:30 EST on Saturday, August 31, at Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. Fans can watch the game on ESPN-Plus.
Oddsmakers list Eastern Michigan as 6-point favorites on the road. The over/under for the game is set at 54.5 points. Click here for a full list of this week’s college football odds.
This will be just Coastal Carolina’s third season at the FBS level, so they remain a program in transition. That’s also true of their head coaching situation. Jamey Chadwell led them to a 3-9 season in 2017 as the interim coach while Joe Moglia was on medical leave. Moglia returned to coach the 2018 season but retired afterward. Now Chadwell has the job on a permanent basis.
The Chanticleers were actually close to bowl eligibility last season. They were 5-3 heading into November but lost their final four games, remaining one win short. Coastal Carolina lost by just a field goal in their season finale against South Alabama, which was emblematic of how close they were to a bowl game. Obviously, the goal in 2019 is six wins and a bowl game, a goal that will appear more realistic if they can win their season opener against Eastern Michigan.
As for the Eagles, they’ve come a long way in the past five seasons under Chris Creighton. Eastern Michigan was 3-21 over Creighton’s first two seasons. But the turn around came in 2016 when the Eagles went 7-6 and made a bowl game. Despite a 5-7 setback in 2017, the Eagles went bowling again in 2018.
With two bowl appearances in the last three years, EMU is hoping to take that next step in 2019. After finishing tied for second in a competitive MAC West division last season, the Eagles are hoping to once again be in the mix for a spot in the MAC title game. Creighton and company would also like to win a bowl game after losing both of their postseason performances. Of course, with a pair of power conference teams on their schedule the next two weeks, it’s vital that the Eagles begin their season with a win over Coastal Carolina.
Honestly, this game could end up going either way. Both teams have some questions to answer heading into the season, and with this being the season opener, it’s tough to know what side will have more answers. But Eastern Michigan has more of a winning pedigree, at least the past few seasons, and Coastal Carolina’s home-field advantage isn’t worth much. I’ll take my chances leaning toward the Eagles to win by at least a touchdown on the road.
One advantage the Eagles have is at quarterback, where senior Mike Glass III has some experience and has a chance to be one of the better quarterbacks in the MAC this year. Glass played part-time in 2018, but he saw the field enough to throw for over 1,000 yards with nine touchdowns to just one interception. He’s also a capable runner and was actually EMU’s second-leading rusher last season. Glass should help jump-start a struggling running game that also brings back Shaq Vann, who led the team with 590 rushing yards last year. The Eagles also return several experienced receivers, so there should be good continuity in the passing game.
Meanwhile, the Chanticleers are trying to improve a defense that was dreadful last season. Coastal Carolina has a couple of nice pieces along the defensive line. But they are replacing most of their starters in the secondary and aren’t sure if their young linebackers are ready to grow up. My guess is that the Chanticleers will have trouble with Eastern Michigan’s veteran receivers and Glass once he gets out of the pocket and starts running. If that ends up happening, the Coastal Carolina defense could give up a lot of big plays.
On the other side of the ball, Coastal Carolina has a new quarterback in sophomore Fred Payton. In fairness, Payton saw the field last year and had some promising moments. The Chanticleers also return four starters on the offensive line and should have a solid rushing attack, even if they’ll rely on multiple options rather than one workhorse back.
However, they’ll be facing an EMU defense that was one of the best in the MAC last year. Even with seven starters to replace, the Eagles have good size and experience along the defensive line and a talented secondary. If Eastern Michigan can hide some of their inexperience at linebacker, the defense should be in good shape. They may not be as good as they were last year, but the Eagles should be able to handle Coastal Carolina.
As long as the spread remains less than a touchdown, I don’t have a problem leaning toward Eastern Michigan to cover. The Chanticleers have enough to make this interesting. But I don’t see them beating a team that went to a bowl game last year. The Eagles should ultimately prevail by a touchdown or two.