NCAAF Week 2 Odds: Coastal Carolina Looks for Third Straight Win Over Kansas

Not often a Power 5 school is a huge underdog at a Group of 5 program, but that’s the case Friday in Week 2 of the college football season as Kansas visits No. 22 Coastal Carolina on Friday. Which way to lean at SBR’s top-rated sportsbooks? 

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 

Friday, September 10, 2021 – 07:30 PM EDT at Brooks Stadium 

There are four games around college football on Friday in Week 2 – no Thursday games, which is unusual, but likely the NCAA wanted to steer clear of the NFL Kickoff Game between the Cowboys and Bucs that night – and the lone ranked team in action is No. 22 Coastal Carolina. Although, that ranking could change when the new polls come out. CCU will still be ranked for sure. 

Coastal Carolina, of the Sun Belt Conference, is only in its fifth season as an FBS program yet this will be the third straight season it faces Kansas of the Big 12. Most Power 5 schools only played conference games last year due to the pandemic, but the Jayhawks played one out of conference and lost 38-23 at home to the Chanticleers. CCU star quarterback Grayson McCall threw for three scores and ran for two. The Chants were up 28-3 at the half. KU would turn the ball over three times overall. The NCAAF oddsmakers sure got that one wrong as Kansas was a 4.5-point favorite.  In 2019, Coastal won 12-7 at Kansas as a 7-point underdog.  

Jayhawks Nearly Embarrassed In Week 1 

Kansas tied for the lowest over-under win total in the nation this year at SBR’s top-rated books at just 1.5 – and the under was solidly favored. The thinking was that the Jayhawks would win their season opener over FCS school South Dakota and then lose out.   They were 11-point favorites on the NCAAF odds against South Dakota and barely escaped, 17-14 last Friday, in the KU head coaching debut of Lance Leipold. The Coyotes led 14-10 with under two minutes remaining, but Jason Bean hit Lawrence Arnold on a 16-yard TD pass with 1:10 left.

Pretty funny that students stormed the field after winning against an FCS school, but Kansas had lost 13 straight.   Bean, a transfer from North Texas, was 17-for-26 for 163 yards and two scores and led KU with 54 yards rushing (Kansas totaled only 82 yards on 41 carries). Bean beat out incumbent starter Jalon Daniels for the starting job.

Arnold caught both of Bean’s TD throws. Right before Friday’s game, KU announced that running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. would undergo season-ending surgery. As a true freshman last year, Hishaw averaged 4.4 yards per carry and ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns while appearing in eight games.  Defensively in the opener, Kansas allowed only 98 yards passing but South Dakota did rush for 165.

Jayhawks starting D-Lineman Sam Burt left with an injury in the first quarter and didn’t return. No update yet on his status. As for this matchup, Kansas is 6-4 against the spread on NCAAF odds in its past 10 on the road as at least a 24-point underdog.  

Chants Cruise, Cover In Home Opener 

We previewed Coastal Carolina’s game last Thursday vs. The Citadel and recommended taking the Chants at -32 against the FCS opponent. CCU got a late cover courtesy of a Braydon Bennett 4-yard TD run with 2:29 left in a 52-14 victory. Coastal Carolina rolled up 610 yards on the Bulldogs – second-most yardage for the program since moving up to the FBS -- and scored on eight of its 10 offensive possessions.

QB Grayson McCall, the preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year (he won that in 2020 as a freshman), was 16-for-19 passing for 262 yards and a score. He was pulled after six possessions with the game out of hand.   “Obviously you want to have him for a 14-game season, so we’re going to try to be smart with him,” CCU head coach Jamey Chadwell said. “If we have to run him to win the game, then we’re going to run him to win the game.” 

Indeed, the very mobile McCall only rushed twice. Shermari Jones rushed for a career-high 100 yards on nine carries with two TDs. The Chanticleers had more yards rushing (266) than The Citadel had total yards (237). CCU receiver Jaivon Heiligh had his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game with six receptions for 133 yards and a TD.  

“I think they are better than they were last year,” Citadel coach Brent Thompson said of Coastal. “They are definitely worthy of the accolades, probably the best Group of Five team I’ve seen in a long time.”  It appears that CCU got out of its opener without any major injuries. It is now 2-1 ATS on the NCAAF future odds all-time as a home favorite of at least 24 points.   Obviously, Coastal will win this game, but that spread is a bit too high. 

NCAAF Pick: Kansas +27.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)

Kansas +27.5 (-110)

Visit Site

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

The post NCAAF Week 2 Odds: Coastal Carolina Looks for Third Straight Win Over Kansas appeared first on Picks.