Stat Attack: Coastal Carolina
While Louisiana Tech Athletic Director Ryan Ivey plans to bring back head coach Sonny Cumbie after securing an Independence Bowl bid, Tim Beck was not extended that same courtesy by the Bulldogs’ opponent. Coastal Carolina parted ways with Beck, paying him $1.7 million to leave Conway, South Carolina. That leaves former Tech defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson to coach the Chanticleers in the bowl game; a storyline that will undoubtedly be brought up multiple times on the ESPN broadcast.
But it may make sense for Johnson to be the coordinator kept on, even if only temporarily, after seeing how poorly the Chanticleer offense performed in 2024. Coastal ranked 13th worst in the country in passing yards, averaging just 158 per game through the air. And while they were middle of the pack on the ground, the overall offensive production was troubling, with the Chanticleers ranked 19th worst nationally in total yards per game:
But as much as we’d expect to see a Jeremiah Johnson-led defense make huge improvements in a single year, the Chanticleer defense wasn’t much better than their offense this season, if at all. Coastal allowed 246 passing yards per game (21st worst) and 210 rushing yards per game (5th worst).
When you put it all together, Coastal’s defense ranked 4th worst in college football in total yards allowed per game:
And while yards allowed doesn’t necessarily equate to points allowed, the Chanticleer defense broke nearly as much as it bent, ranking 9th worst in college football with 34 points allowed per game.
And yet, somehow, Coastal Carolina made it to six wins. So something must be going right at least some of the time.
That something is the run game. Only once all year did Coastal Carolina rush for more than 100 yards and lose the game. That lone exception was their road loss to Georgia Southern, which happened to be their only one-possession loss of the season. In fact, the difference between their good rushing games and their bad ones is pretty drastic:
Things often get funky in bowl games, but how could they not after a month between contests? Between the transfer portal, players leaving early for the NFL draft, and coaching changes, teams can look dramatically different on December 30th than they did on November 29th. And don’t forget injuries: Coastal’s second-leading rusher, quarterback Samari Collier, was knocked out for the season with a knee injury back in November.
Coastal Carolina isn’t the only team affected by these factors. But if the 2025 Bulldog defense plays like the 2025 Bulldog defense and shuts down the run game one final time on the penultimate day of the year, Louisiana Tech’s former defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson may watch Louisiana Tech’s new defensive coordinator Luke Olsen do what he couldn’t a year ago: hoist the Independence Bowl trophy.
—
Nathan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to check out @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.
