Georgia Southern vs. Coastal Carolina 2025 Preview: Keys and Predictions

The 4-5 Georgia Southern Eagles (4-5) host the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-3) in a Sun Belt showdown. The Chanticleers are on a four-game winning streak, after their devastating 47-7 loss to Old Dominion, and have a real chance to compete for the Sun Belt championship with a 5-1 record in conference play. The Eagles, on the other hand, are still fighting for a bowl berth.

Georgia Southern Eagles vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: 2025 College Football Preview

Georgia Southern opened as 1.5-point favorites, according to Vegas Insider, but the line has since moved to 2.5, meaning there might have been some early action on the Eagles. Some fans may think this line makes no sense, seeing as the Chanticleers have a much better record. However, it could suggest Vegas and the sportsbooks still believe in the Eagles. It could also just be reflecting the Eagles being at home, something bettors typically consider as a 3-point advantage. The total opened at 57.5 and has moved to 59.5, which shows that bettors are leaning towards that over.

Matchup History

Georgia Southern has played Coastal Carolina 11 times, with a record of 7-4 against the Chanticleers. Last season, the Eagles had their way with Coastal and won 26-6 on the road. Most fans will remember the infamous dance-off between these two programs from their 2019 matchup. As the game transitioned from the third quarter to the fourth, both benches cleared to dance to the stadium music. Neither team actually did anything but dance, and stayed plenty far apart from one another. However, the officials flagged both teams for unsportsmanlike conduct anyway.

Coastal Carolina Key Players

The Chanticleers came into the season with multiple options at quarterback. Yet, since naming Samari Collier their starter, Coastal has gone 4-0. The 6-foot-3 senior has thrown for 471 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions in just four games. But the real danger of Collier’s game are his legs. The dual-threat QB has already rushed for over 360 yards with six rushing touchdowns. Mobile quarterbacks have given the Southern defense trouble all year, and Collier might be the best one the Eagles have seen yet.

Although the Eagles just did a phenomenal job at limiting App State running back Rashod Dubinion to only 40 rushing yards, Coastal Carolina has a dynamic run game that is led by Ja’Vin Simpkins. The junior running back has 472 rushing yards on the year and a pair of touchdowns. His backup, Dominic Knicely, is not far behind with 351 rushing yards on the season and also a pair of touchdowns. It is obvious that the Chanticleers lean on their quarterback’s legs near the goal line, but these two backs help get them down there. The Eagles will need another performance like last Thursday if they want to slow down this offense.

The one aspect of this dynamic offense that the Eagles may be able to exploit is their tendency to turn it over. The Chanticleers average 1.89 turnovers a game, which is tied for seventh-highest in FBS. Last week, an Eagle interception at the goal line wound up being the difference in the game. If this game does turn into a shoot-out, like the total suggests, a turnover might become the difference in this game as defenses struggle to force stops.

Georgia Southern Key Players

The biggest factor for the Eagles will be their defense. Georgia Southern had their best defensive game of the season on the road last week against their rival, App State. Coastal has scored at least 40 points in their last three games, and Georgia Southern has only allowed over 40 points in their first two games of the season, at Fresno State and at Southern California. After their best performance of the season, expect this defense to continue to improve as they navigate an abundance of injuries.

Georgia Southern goes as JC French goes, and that was clear last week. French threw for 352 yards, a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and only took two sacks against App State. The Eagles were aggressive to start the game last week and, in just the third play of the game, went for a deep shot that paid off with a Marcus Sanders Jr. touchdown. Building French’s confidence early is integral to getting the offense moving since he is the only one who can get the ball to Camden Brown, the Eagles best player.

Beyond the passing game, Eagles starting running back OJ Arnold will also be a key factor in this game. Arnold is coming off his best performance of the season in terms of rushing yards, with 142 against App State. While still reliable out of the backfield, Arnold is at his best running downhill. If the Eagles want to lean on French and their great weapons on the perimeter involved as much as possible, Arnold will have to get the Chanticleers defense worried about him.

How Georgia Southern Wins

This will more than likely be an offense-dominated game. The Eagles will need at least one turnover if they want to take some pressure off their offense to produce points each drive. If Georgia Southern can contain Samari Collier’s elite leg talent and force him to pass, they might be able to come down with one.

The offense will not be allowed to miss a beat. The biggest issue last week was penalties, specifically false starts. The Eagles had a number of false starts while in the scoring position that ultimately forced field goal attempts. If Georgia Southern can clean those up, their offense can be much more efficient.

Final Prediction

The Eagles being favored does make me believe that Vegas is warming up to this team and with the defense coming off their best game of the season, and now playing at home, it makes sense. Still, I believe the game goes over the 59.5-point total due to the efficient offenses on both sides.

My final prediction is 34-33, with the Eagles getting the win but failing to cover the 2.5-point spread.