Chanticleers Overcome Upset Scare With Dominant 2nd Half
Cornell Jennings bidding adieu to the Seminoles faithful after 3rd touchdown of the game capped off a 50 point 2nd half for Coastal in the eventual rout
BOXSCORE
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Coastal Carolina | 7 | 0 | 23 | 27 | 57 |
| Florida State | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
ScoringSummary
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Coastal Carolina | Florida State |
| 1st | Florida State | 9:24 | Matt Townsend, 83 Yd Run | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | Coastal Carolina | 5:55 | Fredrick Meredith, 12 Yd Run | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | Florida State | 3:48 | Elijah Strange, Returned Interception 66 Yds | 7 | 14 |
| 2nd | Florida State | 0:14 | Darin Wilkes, 50 Yd Pass From Cliff Stewart | 7 | 21 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 7:31 | Cornell Jennings, 2 YD Run | 14 | 21 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 6:37 | Tyler Hagg, Returned Punt 54 Yds | 21 | 21 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 5:30 | Safety | 23 | 21 |
| 3rd | Coastal Carolina | 0:53 | Cornell Jennings, 7 Yd Run | 30 | 21 |
| 4th | Florida State | 8:58 | Darin Wilkes, 46 Yd Pass From Cliff Stewart | 30 | 28 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 7:02 | Alfonso Smith, Returned Fumble 28 Yds | 37 | 28 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 4:13 | Bernie Bender, 19 Yd Pass From Fredrick Meredith (Failed 2PT) | 43 | 28 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 1:50 | Tavares Tinker, 77 Yd Pass From Fredrick Meredith | 50 | 28 |
| 4th | Coastal Carolina | 0:13 | Cornell Jennings, 22 Yd Run | 57 | 28 |
Coastal Carolina Florida State
Passing | Stats Passing | Stats
-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Fredrick Meredith | 18/29, 283 Yds, 2 TD, INT Cliff Stewart | 22/34, 293 Yds, 2 TD
Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats
-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Cornell Jennings | 23 Att, 255 Yds, 3 TD Cliff Stewart | 8 Att, -46 Yds
Duke Kryspin | 8 Att, 56 Yds. Markell Coxie | 5 Att, 12 Yds
Fredrick McCallum | 3 Att, 12 Yds Matt Townsend | 4 Att, 95 Yds, TD
Fredrick Meredith | 2 Att, 3 Yds, TD
Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats
-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Dorian Allen | 5 Rec, 52 Yds Antwaun Layne | 7 Rec, 81 Yds
Jamal Stephen | 4 Rec, 47 Yds Malcolm Dunbar | 4 Rec, 30 Yds
Tavares Tinker | 4 Rec, 118 Yds, TD Darin Wilkes | 4 Rec, 143 Yds, 2 TD
Bernie Bender | 2 Rec, 28 Yds, TD Matt Townsend | 3 Rec, -1 Yd
Tyler Hagg | 1 Rec, 13 Yds Jamaal Spears | 2 Rec, 28 Yds
Duke Kryspin | 1 Rec, 5 Yds Markell Coxie | 2 Rec, 12 Yds
Malcolm Briggs | 1 Rec, 20 Yds
Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats
-------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
FS Keke Allotey | 10 Tkl MLB Otis Berryman | 17 Tkl, TFL
SS Randy Granger | 7 Tkl, TFL, 0.5 Sack CB Alexander Angel | 11 Tkl, TFL
DE Ramon Queiro | 4 Tkl, 3 TFL, Sack, FF CB Elijah Strange | 6 Tkl, INT, TD
LB Tyroe Flinn | 4 Tkl, 3 TFL DE Jerry Fine | 2 Tkl, TFL, Sack
DE Alfonso Smith | 2 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1.5 Sack, FR, TD
DE Monte Miner | 2 Tkl, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks, Safety
LB Carl Urbik | 2 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack
Tallahassee, FL. - When Coastal Carolina jogged into the halftime locker room trailing 21–7, head coach Kade Vaughn didn’t sugarcoat his message.
“If we really let these baby back bitches beat us in those stupid powder blue jerseys,” Vaughn barked, “I’m benching everyone next week. I’ll burn redshirts before I let a team get dog-walked by an inferior opponent.”
Message received.
After a sloppy first half that featured an 89-yard Florida State touchdown run on the opening play, a late deep strike to Darin Wilkes, and a pick-six thrown by quarterback Fredrick Meredith, the Chanticleers flipped the script entirely after the break — outscoring the Seminoles 50–7 in the second half to move to 5–0.
Running back Cordell Jennings ignited the comeback with a 48-yard burst to set up his first of three touchdowns, cutting the deficit to one score. On the next drive, star defensive end Alfonso Smith — the nation’s sack leader — continued his rampage with another takedown, forcing a punt.
Tyler Hagg promptly took that punt 68 yards to the house, juking the punter in the process and tying the game just three minutes into the third quarter.
Florida State unraveled from there. A holding penalty buried the Seminoles near their own goal line, and Monte Miner delivered consecutive sacks for a safety to put Coastal ahead. Jennings added another touchdown moments later, capping a 23-point blitz that turned a 21–7 halftime hole into a 30–21 advantage.
Florida State briefly countered with another long Wilkes touchdown, but Coastal slammed the door with a defensive score from — who else — Alfonso Smith, and a 77-yard bomb from Meredith to Tavares Tinker in the closing minutes. Vaughn kept the pedal down late, with Jennings rumbling in for his third score with 13 seconds left.
That last touchdown drew a long stare at midfield from Florida State head coach Tyler Lutrus, who was clearly unhappy with the late fireworks.
When asked postgame if there was an exchange, Vaughn smirked.
“Simply told him, you better come correct if you want the crown,” Vaughn said. “I should’ve added they need to retire those god-awful blue jerseys.”
Coastal’s defensive front — led by Smith and Miner — again set the tone, while the secondary’s vulnerability to chunk plays remained the lone blemish on an otherwise dominant outing. Meredith shook off early jitters to finish strong, stabilizing an offense that looked lost in the first half.
The Chanticleers return home next week for another statement opportunity against No. 14 Louisville — a game that will further test whether Vaughn’s team is simply hot, or truly becoming elite.
Not the kind of Strange you want, as the cornerback jumped the screen pass and was off for the 66 yard touchdown.
Coastal's swarming defensive front continues to save the season, adding seven more to raise their season total to 37.
For the 2nd straight game a WR burned the Chants deep consistently, this time it was Darin Wilkes to snagged a pair of long touchdowns to burn the defense.
ACC Week Five Results
19 Boston College (2-4) @
Syracuse (5-0) 20
24 Pittsburgh (4-2) @ Virginia Tech (2-3) 21
23 Wake Forest (1-4) @
NC State (3-2) 24
21 Duke (1-4) @
#14 Louisville (3-1) 31
3 North Carolina (2-3) @
#6 Miami (4-1) 30
34 West Virginia (3-2) @
Clemson (2-3) 52
Notable Week Five Results
31 #4 Ole Miss (5-0) @
#17 UCLA (4-1) 25
44 #22 Georgia (4-0) @ Texas (4-1) 7
51 #19 Texas A&M (3-2) @
#12 Missouri (5-0) 53
38 #11 Oklahoma (5-0) @ Florida (1-3) 17