Coastal Carolina not used to losing before leap

FAYETTEVILLE -- Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina's interim head coach, is used to winning. So are the Coastal Carolina players.

Chadwell went 35-14 the previous four seasons as the head coach at Charleston Southern. Coastal Carolina combined for a 51-15 record the past five seasons.

But all those victories for Chadwell and Coastal Carolina came while playing in the Big South Conference on the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Chadwell and the Chanticleers (1-7) haven't been able to celebrate a victory since beating Massachusetts 38-28 on Sept. 2 in Coastal Carolina's debut season as a Football Bowl Subdivision team and member of the Sun Belt Conference.

Things don't figure to get easier for Coastal Carolina on Saturday when the Chanticleers play the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

"Obviously, trying to still get over the hump going to play Arkansas," Chadwell said Monday on the Sun Belt coaches teleconference. "They've got a 3-5 record, but they're a good football team."

Arkansas is the first SEC team Coastal Carolina has played since losing 70-10 at South Carolina in 2013.

That South Carolina team was ranked No. 11 and finished 11-2, but Chadwell said playing Arkansas is a tough game from the standpoint of the Razorbacks' superior size and speed.

"You're watching them thinking, 'Hey, maybe we can do this,' " Chadwell said. "And then you're seeing they're playing Alabama and some of those people."

Chadwell, hired in January to be Coastal Carolina's offensive coordinator, was named interim head coach July 28 when Joe Moglia announced he was taking a leave of absence this season for medical reasons.

Moglia said he had been dealing with a bronchial asthmatic reaction to allergies -- which makes breathing difficult -- for three years and was taking the leave to undergo a procedure that will allow him to be healthy and return to coaching next season.

Chadwell said he had no idea until shortly before the start of preseason practice he would take over as interim head coach.

For the players, it's been an adjustment hearing him as the voice leading the program, Chadwell said, especially since he previously was at a Big South rival of Coastal Carolina's.

"So just trying to build the bridge of communication and build a relationship in a short amount of time -- having never recruited those kids or spent a ton of time with them -- that's been the biggest challenge," he said. "It's not necessarily making decisions on game day and other things."

Coastal Carolina quarterback Tyler Keane leads the team with 1,327 passing yards and 10 touchdowns, but he was replaced after the third series by Kilton Anderson in Texas State's 27-7 victory over the Chanticleers last week.

Receivers Malcolm Williams (24 catches for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns) and Ky'Jon Tyler (21 catches for 276 yards) are Coastal Carolina's top playmakers, Chadwell said.

"We try to do a Spread option. I'd classify it as that," Chadwell said. "We're not doing a lot of that right now. We're throwing the ball more than probably we'd like to."

Coastal Carolina's top players on its 4-3 defense are linebacker Shane Johnson (59 tackles) and end Marcus Williams (three sacks).

"We play quite a bit of man-to-man coverage and try to bring some different blitzes out of a four-down [linemen] deal," Chadwell said.

Running backs Osharmar Abercrombie (92 carries for 495 yards) and Marcus Outlow (47 carries for 227 yards) might be limited for the Arkansas game, Chadwell said, because of injuries.

"Right now our plan is both of those guys will play," Chadwell said. "How well, I don't know. But they both will play."

Chadwell said Coastal Carolina had been improving before the Texas State game, in which the Bobcats outgained the Chanticleers 507 yards to 183.

"We were just disappointed overall in our effort, or lack of effort last week after watching the video," Chadwell said. "Texas State came in and really wanted the game more than us and played well.

"I felt like the last four weeks we were getting better, and last week we took a step backward. It was disappointing."

Chadwell said he doesn't believe this transition season from the FCS to the FBS level for the Chanticleers has been tougher than expected, especially after Coastal Carolina lost 12 starters from last season's 10-2 team.

"As coaches we knew that this was a big jump," he said. "We knew that there was going to be a challenge making it and with the team we had coming back.

"Losing is losing. I think the tough part about it is just the way we have lost. The way we've played inconsistently week to week.

"We've been so up and down. There's times we look like we're a solid football team. There's other times we look like we're 1-7."

Sports on 10/31/2017