CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS

NEW ORLEANS – Jon Sumrall knew his Troy team had a chance to be special. 

As a first-year head coach, it’s not always a smooth process to get buy-in from returning players, especially with a team loaded with experienced veterans used to doing things a certain way. 

But that wasn’t the case with the Trojans, who are led by the NCAA’s all-time career tackles leader Carlton Martial and two-time First-Team All-Sun Belt offensive lineman Austin Stidham. When the team’s leading returners committed to the process, Sumrall sensed his team had the potential for greatness.

“We have some veteran guys who were not comfortable leaving after being a five-win team three years in a row,” Sumrall said Monday. “They wanted to come back and leave a different legacy, a different impression with their last year. When we got those guys to return, I felt like we had a chance to be a good team. When all those guys decided, ‘Let’s go back and do this together at Troy,’ that gave me hope that we could get it turned around quicker.” 

Sumrall’s Troy team (10-2) will host Coastal Carolina in the 2022 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.  

“It’s a very unique opportunity that I am grateful for and I think our players are too,” Sumrall said. “I’m really happy for these young men that are at the back end of their careers here who have seen this through to be playing a conference title game. To get to play the first Saturday in December is something as a college football coach or player that you dream about. 

“Our players have earned so many great things this year because of their work-ethic and their consistency and their buy-in,” Sumrall continued. “I don’t take it lightly that, with a new staff, they’ve bought in and done what we’ve asked them to do in so many ways. Some of those things that we asked them to do early on were not very comfortable for anybody. They’ve accepted the new and the change.”

Bouncing Back: The last three years have been nothing short of impressive for Coastal Carolina, which boasts a 31-5 overall record since the start of the 2020 campaign. That’s perhaps what made last Saturday’s 47-7 loss at James Madison even more surprising. 

“When you get your tail kicked, you question everything,” Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell said Monday. “But, sometimes, you just have a bad day. We’ll learn from it and move on. The good thing about that is that we get another game and another opportunity to wipe it away. I know our team; we’re a resilient group.”

The Chanticleers (9-2), the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Co-Champions, have dominated league foes over the past three seasons with a 20-4 mark against SBC opponents during that span. They will have an opportunity to bounce back on Saturday as they compete for this year’s conference crown.

“We’re humbled and excited to represent the East Division in this new Sun Belt,” Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell said. “Our guys have earned that through the rigors of the season. We’re excited to have the opportunity to hoist a trophy.”

Leading Man: One of the big question marks heading into Saturday’s game is whether Coastal Carolina’s dynamic quarterback Grayson McCall will play. 

McCall is one of the nation’s premier signal-callers, as the fifth-year redshirt junior leads the Sun Belt and ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency (176.1) and is eighth nationally in completion percentage (.689). McCall is also among the top-35 players nationally in total points responsible for per game (16.7), passing yards per game (257.1) and total offense (275.4). 

He sustained a foot injury in Coastal’s 35-28 win against App State on November 3. The recovery process, he was told, would take three-to-six weeks. It has been four. 

“He’s getting better each week,” Chadwell said. “It’s closer to probably a bowl game than it would be this week. We’ll just continue to see how he’s healing. Our doctors are saying it’ll be closer to six weeks. But, if he can go this week, then I know he’ll want to go. If he’s not healthy and he has an opportunity to hurt himself worse, then we’re not going to let him play.”

Coastal Carolina has turned to Jarrett Guest and Bryce Carpenter in McCall’s absence. Sumrall says his Troy team will prepare no differently regardless of who the opposing quarterback may be. 

“McCall is obviously a very talented young man – I love his competitive nature and grit,” Sumrall said. “Their staff does a tremendous job – schematically and culturally. I’ve got a lot of respect for them. They run what they run. That’s what makes them good - they’ve got an identity on offense and they knew who they are. They present a lot of different issues offensively. I think their offense has had success because it has an identity.”

Close Calls: Nothing short of a close game should be expected when the two teams meet on Saturday. The last three meetings – all Coastal Carolina victories – have been determined by a combined 12 points. 

In 2019, Troy led 35-28 with 2:15 remaining in the game before Coastal Carolina’s final drive. Running back CJ Marable scored a three-yard touchdown with 30 seconds remaining and then ran successfully for the two-point conversion to give the Chanticleers their first-ever victory (36-35) against the Trojans. 

In 2020, Troy led 38-35 with 1:20 remaining when Coastal Carolina put together a five-play, 75-yard drive over 45 seconds. McCall completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jaivon Heiligh with 35 ticks left on the clock. With the Trojans driving, the Chanticleers sacked back-up quarterback Jacob Free and recovered the fumble with 17 seconds remaining. The win (42-38) sealed the first 11-0 regular season in program history for Coastal Carolina. 

In 2021, Coastal Carolina defeated Troy 35-28 in a Thursday-night match-up. Late in the game, the Chanticleers faked a punt on fourth and four, and defensive tackle C.J. Brewer ran the ball for 12 yards and a first down to clinch the win. 

“They’ve all been one-score games that have basically come down to the last drive,” Chadwell said. “We’ve been fortunate the last three seasons to be out on top of that. If you didn’t care who won and you were just watching the games, they were some really good ones. [Troy] has obviously got everybody back from those games, so they’ve probably been waiting a long time for this one. They’re really, really good and we’ve played some good games. Hopefully we can play another one.” 

Sumrall credits Coastal Carolina for persevering to win each of those three games. 

“There has been some close games between these two teams,” he said. “Coastal has found a way the last few years to come out with a win. I think that’s because they’ve had a great culture and they still do.”

Advantages to Adversity: On a Saturday in mid-September in Boone, N.C., it might have been difficult for Troy to visualize the path it has taken to hosting the Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship. 

That day, the nation’s eyes were focused on the match-up between App State and Troy, which included a visit from ESPN’s College Gameday. The Trojans led the Mountaineers 28-24 with 1:44 remaining. 

That game ended with one of the most memorable plays of the 2022 college football regular season. But for Troy, it ended in devastation. 

App State quarterback Chase Brice heaved a 53-yard touchdown pass as time expired. Wide receiver Christian Horn caught a tipped ball at the five-yard line and scored on the play to give the Mountaineers the stunning victory. 

At that point, Troy was 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. The Trojans had lost their season opener at No. 21 Ole Miss and defeated Alabama A&M in the home opener. 

Troy hasn’t lost since. The Trojans enter Saturday’s title tilt on a nine-game winning streak. 

“I think it’s really, really hard to get people to get up off the mat after a gut-wrenching defeat like that and lay it all on the line again,” Sumrall said. “It’s a testament to the young men on our team and in our locker room and our coaches. I don’t know if we’re where we are right now if we didn’t have that happen. It created some clarity and maybe some mental toughness. I think you grow more through adversity than you do through success or comfort.”