San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
COASTAL CAROLINA SURVIVES BIG SCARE
Grayson Mccall and Coastal Carolina put together a final drive that was perfection, just like their regular season.
Jaivon Heiligh caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Mccall with 45 seconds left and No. 13 Coastal Carolina preserved its first unblemished regular season with a 42-38 win over host Troy on Saturday.
Mccall needed just 45 seconds to move the Chanticleers (11-0, 8-0 Sun Belt Conference), who didn’t have any timeouts, 75 yards for the winning score. He completed all four of his passes on the drive, three of them to Heiligh.
They survived a sandwich game between an upset of then-no. 13 BYU and the league title game against No. 19 Louisiana.
“We found a way to get it done and that’s what championship teams do,” Coastal coach Jamey Chadwell said. “It wasn’t pretty and it looked like it was dire straits.
“Our quarterback looked like a freshman on the second to last drive. He didn’t look like a freshman on that last drive. Just an unbelievable way to end the football game,” he said.
The Trojans (5-6, 3-4) didn’t make it easy for the highest-ranked team to visit Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Backup quarterback Jacob Free, who replaced an injured Gunnar Watson
No. 13 Coastal Carolina 42, Troy 38
in the fourth quarter, hit Tray Eafford on a 6-yard touchdown with 1:20 left. The play was set up with an interception by star middle linebacker Carlton Martial, who also had 21 tackles.
“We know Coastal’s got a good football team, but I thought we fought them tooth and nail and really had an opportunity to win the game there at the end,” Troy coach Chip Lindsey said.
Mccall completed 24 of 29 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Heiligh caught 11 passes for 138 yards and two TDS, including the winner.
“Coach always preaches get vertical so I stuck my foot in the ground and got vertical, saw the dude slipped and missed, and touchdown from there,” Heiligh said. “I knew the dude behind me wasn’t going to touch me.”
No. 17 North Carolina 62, No. 10 Miami 26: Michael Carter and Javonte Williams set an NCAA record by combining for 544 yards rushing, and visiting North Carolina (8-3, 7-3 ACC) embarrassed Miami (8-2, 7-2) in the regular-season finale for both teams.
No. 12 Georgia 49, Missouri 14: JT Daniels threw three touchdown passes, two to George Pickens, and Georgia (7-2) routed host Missouri (5-4).
Notable
Kevin Sumlin set a decent foundation his first season at Arizona, winning five games and just missing a bowl game.
The program went on a downward trend in the two years since, the wins dropping each season. Allowing the most points in a 121-year rivalry turned out to be the last straw.
Arizona fired Sumlin on Saturday, a day after a 70-7 loss to Arizona State extended the Wildcats’ losing streak to a record 12 games over two seasons.
• Arkansas State is hiring former Tennessee coach Butch Jones as its new head coach. Jones spent five seasons as coach of the Volunteers, going 34-27, though just 14-24 in the SEC.