Coastal Carolina vs Troy Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds & Picks
Chanticleers, Trojans Battle For Sun Belt Title
Trojans on Nine-Game Winning Streak
The Troy Trojans go for a 10th straight win when they host the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Saturday. Troy will host the contest after winning the Sun Belt’s West Division with a 7-1 record, one game better than the Chanticleers’ conference mark.
Coastal Carolina won the East Division and will be making its first conference championship game appearance after the 2020 contest was canceled due to COVID-19. This should be a good matchup of two teams looking to improve their bowl position, so before you make any bet online on this contest, check out our in-depth preview of the title tilt.
Let’s check the latest college football odds, stats, injury reports and college football lines for Coastal Carolina vs Troy. We’ve plenty of NCAA football odds for you to consider.
Coastal Carolina Hoping For McCall Return
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers didn’t have the close to the regular season they’d hoped for, partially because of starting quarterback Grayson McCall’s foot injury. McCall was hurt in a Nov. 3 win over Appalachian State and hasn’t played since, with Coastal Carolina going 1-1 in that span, including last weekend’s 47-7 loss to James Madison.
“He’s getting better each week,” Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said about McCall’s status for Saturday. “It’s closer, probably, to a bowl game than it would be this week. He’s improved every week. Saturday will be four weeks and it was a three-to-six-week injury. He couldn’t have played (last) Saturday; he wasn’t healed.”
McCall has passed for 2,314 yards and 21 touchdowns this season with only one interception. By contrast, McCall’s backup, junior Jarrett Guest, managed just 99 yards through the air in last week’s loss, getting sacked four times and throwing an interception.
Sophomore running back CJ Beasley may need to carry more of the load if McCall can’t play on Saturday. Beasley leads the team with 672 rushing yards and four touchdowns, though he also had his troubles against James Madison, finishing with just 17 yards on seven carries.
The Coastal Carolina defense hasn’t exactly been stout this season, allowing opponents 412.7 yards of total offense and 28.7 points per game. The Chanticleers allowed 278.7 yards per game through the air, ranking last in the Sun Belt Conference.
Scoop on Free Play from the Locker Room
Troy Rolling Through Opponents
The Troy Trojans have been taking care of business over the last couple of months, especially on the defensive side of the ball. They haven’t given up more than 20 points in a contest since a 34-27 win over Western Kentucky on Oct. 1, and their 16.8 points per game allowed on the season ranks eighth in the country.
Offensively, junior Gunnar Watson has been having a solid season, passing for 2,387 yards and 10 touchdowns. Watson hasn’t needed to have big games throwing the ball, and he hasn’t thrown for over 200 yards in the last three games. He has thrown 10 interceptions and been sacked 28 times in 2022.
Sophomore running back Kimani Vidal has paced the Troy running attack. He has 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground and has been a workhorse over the last two games, averaging 31 carries and 225 yards while scoring six touchdowns.
Senior running back DK Billingsley has been another threat on the ground, rushing for 599 yards and five scores. The Trojans will likely try to ground out yards and let their defense do the job on the Chanticleers’ offense.
Coastal Carolina vs Troy Game Injuries
Coastal Carolina vs Troy Head-To-Head
Saturday’s contest will be only the sixth time the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and the Troy Trojans have squared off on the gridiron, with Coastal Carolina holding a slight 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. These two teams played in Conway, SC., just last season, with the Chanticleers coming out on top 35-28, their third straight win over the Trojans.
Troy is 1-1 when playing at home against Coastal Carolina, with its one win coming in 2018. The college football lines for Saturday’s conference championship game have the Trojans as heavy favorites to come out on top.
Coastal Carolina vs Troy Game Information
- Game: Coastal Carolina (9-2) vs Troy (10-2)
- Location: Veterans Memorial Stadium, Troy, AL
- Day/Time: Saturday, Dec. 3, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Coastal Carolina vs Troy Live Stream: ESPN
Coastal Carolina vs Troy Betting Lines
Coastal Carolina vs Troy Picks & Prediction
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers just aren’t the same team without McCall at the helm on offense, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be on the field against the Troy Trojans on Saturday. Troy has been solid defensively against most opponents, and it should dominate in taking its first Sun Belt title.
When making your college football picks, take Troy to win and cover at home.
The Troy Trojans are listed at -310 in our Vegas NCAAF lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Trojans, you have a chance to win $32. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are +256, offering a chance to win $256 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Troy Trojans a 75.61% chance to win, with Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at 28.09%.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.