To kick off Saturday’s College Football slate, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will take on the Delaware Blue Hens. This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs, each entering with a 1-1 record this year.
Looking at the odds, Delaware enters as a 5.5-point favorites and hold -198 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. Delaware holds +164 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at 57.5 points.
This article will preview both teams and provide a pick for the Week 3 CFB matchup.
Coastal Carolina vs. Delaware Preview
Coastal Carolina Preview
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers showed some impressive fight in their opening week loss at the hands of the West Virginia Mountaineers. Despite falling behind 24-0, Coastal Carolina battled back to ultimately fall 31-24 with some real spirit shown in the second half. They threw for 373 passing yards, but lost a pair of fumbles that cost the team. Coastal Carolina bounced back in their previous matchup, defeating Fordham 45-7. The Chanticleers generated 460 total yards of offense and gashed the inferior opponent for 215 yards on the ground.
Deuce Bailey stands in at quarterback, completing 33 of his 62 pass attempts (53.2%) thus far this season for 576 yards and six touchdowns through the air. He has added 40 yards on the ground. Colton Hinton, Clayton Coppock, and Robby Washington have each recorded 100+ yards through the air on the season, and combined for six total touchdowns. The rushing attack has also been split, with Jevon Edwards leading the charge, while Jaden Allen-Hendrix and Dominic Knicely also playing a role.
Delaware Preview
The Delaware Blue Coats kicked off the season with a comfortable 42-7 win over Merrimack. They produced an impressive 547 yards of offense, including 435 yards through the air. Delaware leaped out to a 35-0 lead before Merrimack tallied a second-half touchdown to get on the board. In the second matchup, the Blue Hens fell 35-26 to Vanderbilt. This was a competitive battle in which Vanderbilt leaped out to a 14-0 lead before Delaware managed to take a 17-14 lead into halftime. Vanderbilt pulled ahead once again in the second half and ultimately cemented the loss. These teams finished with 338-339 total yards of offense, but a pair of interceptions cost the Blue Hens in their comeback effort.
Nick Minicucci remains the starting quarterback and has completed 31 of his 62 pass attempts (49.2%) for 512 passing yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions this season. Joe Silver leads the rushing attack with 128 yards on the ground, although Viron Ellison Jr. has a team-high two rushing scores. Da’Wain Lofton leads the team with 206 yards through the air, while Kaderris Roberts and Sean Wilson also have eclipsed 100+ yards. All three pass catchers have also reached pay dirt this season.
Coastal Carolina vs. Delaware Pick
It has not been an encouraging start to the year for Delaware, but there is another gear they have in them that I expect comes out in this matchup. The Blue Hens made the leap to the FBS last season, going 7-6 overall and 4-4 in Conference USA play. They leaned largely on a pass-oriented attack and brought back quarterback Nick Minicucci to build off this. Minicucci threw for 3,6683 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions last year, with his recent turnovers being largely uncharacteristic.
The bulk of the issues for the Blue Hens have been self-inflicted, and don’t expect Coastal Carolina to be as capable of exploiting these. Delaware threw two interceptions against Vanderbilt while going just three-for-15 on third-down attempts. Coastal Carolina will be looking to build off the four turnovers forced against Fordham in the 45-7 victory, but the gap in talent between Fordham and Delaware is vast. This is a brand new program for Coastal Carolina, including a first-year head coach, and 65 of the 104 rostered players being new. They have done a respectable job finding an identity, but expect this lack of cohesion to be evident as they face stiffer competition. While the effort level and game plan may be there, expect talent wins out as the Blue Hens begin to find their footing on the year.
Delaware plays like a program that believes they belong in the FBS after dominating in the FCS for plenty of years. Expect both offenses to have some success, but for Minicucci to clean up his decision-making and for Delaware to have some major success against a vulnerable Coastal Carolina rushing defense. If the Blue Hens do not get on the right path this week, it may be time for the panic meter to creep up a few notches. But expect this to be the get-right spot they are searching for and for this to be their most convincing performance as they fully get on the right track. Count on a strong atmosphere in Newark and for the Blue Hens to feed off this en route to winning by more than the 5.5-point spread.
