James Madison football flexes muscle in win at Coastal Carolina

It’s the last regular season game of the year and a battle of two of the best programs in the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and No. 24 James Madison football. The Chanticleers were looking for a win to be able to play in the Sun Belt title game due to James Madison not being eligible due to joining the Sun Belt just last year.

Coming into this game, James Madison had one of the best defenses in all of college football leading the FBS with sacks with a total of 44. With this game, there was a major question mark for Coastal, who would be starting the game? Will it be three-time Sun Belt player of the year, Grayson McCall? Due to gaining an injury earlier in the year, McCall had to sit out this game as well.

Chanticleers head coach, Tim Beck, went with Ethan Vasko to start this game. James Madison had their very talented quarterback, Jordan McCloud, and all the weapons that the Dukes have on the offensive side. Chanticleers were celebrating senior day and having so many seniors on this squad would make this game mean more to them than anything.

The Dukes came into Brooks Stadium and showed why they are the 24th-ranked team in the nation with a very convincing 56-14 win.

McCloud is having a career year that led him to be a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award. McCloud showed why he was nominated for a very elusive award by having a total six-touchdown effort with five throwing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. McCloud threw for 324 yards and almost had two receivers going for 100 yards each, Elijah Sarratt with 107, and Phoenix Sproles had 99. James Madison also had their biggest lead of the year at half, 28.

On the Chanticleers side, Vasko threw for 254 yards with a touchdown to Max Balthazar. There was history made tonight for Chanticleers’ wide receiver, Sam Pinckney, breaking the Sun Belt All-time receiving yards record. Pinckney had 1,586 yards at Georgia State, SunBelt rival, and in his two years at Coastal had 1,900.

The Dukes showed how good their defense is by only allowing 74 rushing yards and causing three fumbles. James Madison has shown that they are going to be a team that continues to be in the top 25 teams in the nation and still be a powerhouse in the SunBelt Conference for years to come.

The biggest question from this game is Grayson McCall. He has one more year of eligibility left and what does that mean for his future at Coastal Carolina? McCall was on the transfer portal last year after seeing his old coach, Jamey Chadwell, leave the program to go to the No. 22 and undefeated Liberty Flames. McCall was convinced to come back to Coastal. McCall has been injury-prone for the Chanticleers throughout his career but he has shown the superstar talent he has and the type of teammate he is. The future of McCall and Coastal is up in the air but Coastal was shown that if there is a different direction, Vasko is ready to take this offense and run with it.

With both teams qualifying for bowl games, fans have to wait until Dec. 3 to see where 11-1, James Madison, and 7-5, Coastal Carolina are projected to land.