There are only two games in college football on Thursday where FBS teams will play against one another. One of those games is between the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and Jacksonville State Gamecocks, with the Gamecocks entering this game as three-point favorites. Continue reading for our college football betting picks for this Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State game on Thursday night.
Chanticleers Prepare For Life Without Grayson McCall
For the first time in a long time, Grayson McCall is not going to be the face of the Coastal Carolina football program at the quarterback position. McCall racked up over 10,000 passing yards as a Chanticleer, but he transferred to NC State. That means a new era of Coastal Carolina football, one they hope to start with a win in this game on the road against Jacksonville State.
Who we see at quarterback and in what amount remains to be seen on Thursday for the Chants. We could see a combination of Noah Kim, who transferred in from Michigan State, along with Ethan Vasko. While it will be hard to replicate the production of McCall for any combination of these quarterback options, the Chanticleers will hope to get off to a good start behind them here.
Jacksonville State Looks to Build On Strong 2023
Jacksonville State had a nice start to its time as an FBS school in 2023. They went 9-4 and went 6-2 in Conference USA, finishing third in the standings in that conference while making a good first impression in the league. The Gamecocks will aim to build on that success starting with their season opener against Coastal Carolina on Thursday.
For Jacksonville State to have success in this game, they will look to run the football early and often. They averaged nearly 50 rush attempts per game last season in a unique style brought in by head coach Rich Rodriguez. Look for the Gamecocks to try and control the time of possession and the tempo of this game while wearing Coastal Carolina down.
Coastal Carolina vs Jacksonville State Best Bet
This could end up being the best game on the college football slate on Thursday night. As far as betting the game is concerned, we will lay the points with Jacksonville State at home, as their running game should be able to cause problems for the Chanticleers defense while Coastal Carolina struggles to adjust to its changes at quarterback.
