James Madison blows out Coastal Carolina. Why CCU’s quarterback situation matters

For the second time in as many seasons, Coastal Carolina’s regular season came to a crashing end at the hands of James Madison on Saturday.

The Dukes (11-1), coming off their first loss of the season to Appalachian State in overtime, ran over CCU, 56- 14, behind five touchdowns from quarterback Jordan McCloud. Elijah Sarratt caught three of those touchdowns and had 107 yards for the Dukes.

Ethan Vasko, the Chants’ third quarterback this season, was a respectable 21 of 29 for 254 yards and a touchdown.

Head Coach Tim Beck was to the point after the game, comparing Saturday’s setback to CCU’s loss against Georgia State.

“(We) got outplayed tonight,” Beck said. “If we didn’t win tonight, I felt like we didn’t deserve to go to (The Sun Belt Conference championship game).”

To Beck’s point, Coastal’s loss combined with App State’s win over Georgia Southern ended the Chants’ chances of playing in the Sun Belt Conference championship game, though Coastal is still bowl-eligible.

Perhaps the biggest story of CCU’s loss, though, is how it could affect the Chants’ future, particularly at quarterback.

Who is Coastal’s quarterback of the future?

Beck’s plans for the quarterback position remain unclear.

Since Grayson McCall’s injury against Arkansas State, Beck has cycled between backups Jarrett Guest and Ethan Vasko, who each started two games. Vasko and Guest have each played well, but both have missed time due to injuries on which Beck’s declined to elaborate repeatedly throughout the season.

Against JMU, Vasko got the start, as Guest was again out with an injury, Beck said after the game. Despite the loss, Vasko played well, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns. In his first year at CCU, Vasko has improved with each start.

Vasko has a good arm, and his dual-threat talent has provided much-needed offense when Coastal’s been in trouble. Through three starts, the redshirt freshman has made the case that he is the future of the program as a member of Beck’s first class of transfer portal recruits.

Meanwhile, Guest has also shown he is a legitimate option. He is the more polished passer and would provide continuity from the Chadwell era to the Beck era.

Both Guest and Vasko’s strong play make it unclear who will replace McCall in 2024, but their ever-changing status has created a mystery around CCU’s quarterback future.

Guest has one more year of eligibility, but Vasko is arguably a better long-term choice due to being the younger player. The wildcard in CCU’s quarterback future is freshman Blake Boda, who has seen minimal playing time this year. The transfer portal and recruiting further complicate things, as Beck could choose to look elsewhere for his next quarterback.

Beck declined to name McCall’s successor after the game, saying the reason Vasko started was because Guest was injured.

“That’s my answer,” he said.

CCU defense, special teams cost Chants

Special teams have been the most consistent issue for CCU all year. They’ve struggled to make field goals, and on punt returns, Coastal has had routine errors. Muffed punts have been a problem all year, as well as strategic mistakes like calling for a fair catch within the Chants’ own 10-yard line.

Against JMU, Coastal showed little’s changed.

Returner Jared Brown called for a fair catch but got run into by one of his own teammates, and the Dukes recovered it. Coastal’s defense did force another stop, but JMU’s offense was relentless.

On JMU’s next drive linebacker JT Killen got his hands on a pass from Dukes quarterback Jordan McCloud, but Killen dropped it. Killen had a clear field in front of him, but the ball fell through his hands.

JMU scored later that drive, and CCU’s defensive miscues allowed JMU to jump out to a 28-0 lead by halftime.

The prior week, Army outplayed and out-schemed the Chants, and while JMU did not run a triple option, CCU’s defense again had no answer for the Dukes. CCU surrendered more than 500 total yards of offense.

JMU is nationally ranked and had the best offense in the Sun Belt Conference entering the game. The Chants had seemingly turned around their defense from a tough 2022; Coastal was getting more turnovers and at times kept Beck’s team in the games.

But those gains were undone against JMU.

“Especially when we got down, I thought our demeanor changed a bit, and I was very disappointed in that. It was one of the things I addressed at halftime,” Beck said after the game.

Coastal Carolina’s offense had no answers

CCU couldn’t score sufficient points to stay competitive. Receivers dropped passes that cooled off drives, a third-quarter fumble further iced Coastal’s offense and certain play calls were ineffective.

With two minutes left in the first quarter, CCU faced fourth down from JMU’s 35 and opted to go for it. But Vasko’s pass to Brown, which would’ve been a touchdown if completed, sailed too far and the receiver caught the pass out of bounds.

CCU turned the ball over on downs, and the Dukes scored on their ensuing drive. An interception by CCU’s defense was squandered by a three-and-out after consecutive runs led to negative yards, as Coastal struggled to run all night.

The Chants squandered a chance to score late in the second half when a Vasko pass was over wide receiver Sam Pinckney’s head as time ran out, and a failed fourth-down conversion ended Coastal’s first drive of the third. JMU again scored on the ensuing drive.

Beck said both decisions were attempts to stay aggressive.

“It was 28-0. A field goal is like a participation trophy,” Beck said. “We needed touchdowns, so we tried to get the ball to our best player.”

The lone bright spot of the game was Pinckney breaking the Sun Belt Conference record for most career receiving yards, surpassing Ty Hilton.

Pinckney said his wife told him before the game he was close to breaking the record.

“It’s an honor, but I’m just here to win games and do whatever I can for the team to win,” he said.