Minus McCall, Coastal Carolina holds off Southern Miss 26-23

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — C.J. Beasley ran 56 yards to set up the final score of the game and Coastal Carolina rallied for a 26-23 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday night in the Chanticleers’ first game without starting quarterback Grayson McCall.

McCall injured his foot in last week’s 35-28 win over Appalachian State and will miss 3 to 6 weeks.

Coastal Carolina (9-1, 6-1 Sun Belt Conference) jumped out to a 17-0 lead after one quarter. Aaron Bedgood ran 30 yards for a touchdown on the Chanticleers’ first possession, Reese White added a 1-yard scoring run and freshman Kade Hensley kicked a 43-yard field.

Southern Miss (5-5, 3-3) bounced back with a 17-point second quarter to tie the game at halftime. Briggs Bourgeois kicked a 21-yard field goal, freshman Kenyon Clay had a 1-yard touchdown run and Trey Lowe passed to freshman Tiaquelin Mims for a 15-yard score.

Bourgeois and Hensley traded field goals in the third quarter to keep the game tied.

The Golden Eagles grabbed a 23-20 lead early in the fourth quarter on another Bourgeois field goal, but Coastal Carolina needed just three plays to regain the lead for good.

Beasley’s long run came on first down and White ran for a 17-yard gain before scoring from 2 yards out.

Jason Garrett started in place of McCall, completing 7 of 14 passes for 163 yards with two interceptions. Beasley had a game-high 68 yards on just four carries. Sam Pinckney caught four passes for 106 yards.

Lowe completed 19 of 36 passes for 295 yards for the Golden Eagles. Jason Brownlee had six receptions for 123 yards.