— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Last Saturday was hardly joyful for Marshall football coach Tony Gibson.
The same can be said for first-year Coastal Carolina football coach Ryan Beard
While Marshall’s defense was torched and its offense struggled scoring in a 45-17 loss at James Madison, Coastal Carolina suffered a 31-24 home loss to Georgia Southern as the Chanticleers were plagued by penalties and turnovers.
At least from an outcome perspective, one team will get right Saturday and struggles will continue for the other as Marshall (3-2, 0-1) is set to welcome Coastal Carolina (1-4, 0-1) for a 7 p.m. affair Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Marshall racked up 444 total yards against JMU, but struggled to finish drives and scored one touchdown after its opening series.
Khalil Wilkins, a West Virginia transfer, has been a valuable component offensively as a de facto Swiss Army knife. Against JMU, Wilkins combined for 99 rushing and receiving yards on three carries and a pair of receptions.
While MU has totaled 17 points in its two losses, defensive issues are far greater. One of Gibson’s primary concerns this week is finding solutions to Marshall’s tendency to allow chunk plays, particularly those that stem from busted coverages, and in turn, uncontested catches.
In the loss at JMU, Dukes’ quarterback Camden Coleman threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 21 completions and running back George Pettaway racked up 206 yards.
Marshall is 129th out of 138 FBS teams with 76 plays allowed of 10 or more yards. The Herd is 136th in allowing 31 plays of 20 or more yards and 134th allowing 16 plays of 30-plus yards.
“We can’t tackle,” Gibson said. “I could have run through some of those holes that were out there. I sound like a broken record.
“I keep thinking that we fix one thing and then something else breaks down. At some point, guys have to make plays. I’m not going to make excuses for them. They’ve got to watch the film and we’ve got to get better from it.”
The need for immediate improvement is striking.
Despite one win over its first five games, redshirt freshman quarterback Deuce Bailey has been a bright spot for the Chanticleers since following Beard from Missouri State.
Bailey’s mobility has been an issue for opponents, including West Virginia in the September 5 season opener, which the Mountaineers won, 31-24.
“They’re different offensively because of quarterback play,” Gibson said. “Deuce is doing a good job of keeping plays alive with his feet. He runs around back there and makes plays all over the field with his feet and arm. Defensively, not much has changed with them, so there is some familiarity with that.
“They’ve been in a bunch of close games. They’ve been in every game with opportunities to win them and they just couldn’t get it done. We’re going to have our hands full with this quarterback and they’ve got good skill players around him. We’re going to have to do a really good job defensively of containing him.”
Beard came to Coastal from Missouri State and has familiarity with Marshall from when he helped guide the Bears to a 21-20 victory over the Herd in 2025.
Coastal leads the series, 3-1, and came from behind last year home to defeat Marshall, 44-27, after outscoring the Herd by 20 in the second half.