Botched clock and kick cost Coastal

In a dramatical ending on the final play of the game Coastal Carolina lost to Colgate 23-19 on a fortuitous folly. With the game clock running below thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Chanticleers leading by two, Raiders quarterback Greg Sullivan attempted to spike the football to stop the clock. Instead the ball slipped out of his hand and was recovered by Raiders running back Jordan Scott at the CCU 16 yard line leading the referees to blow the whistle and halt the game clock. The confusion allowed Colgate ample time to get their field goal unit into place for a game winning attempt. Yet on the snap the ball rolled over the shoulder of back up quarterback and place holder Ryan Meyers, who tracked it down and lofted it up to Adrien Schriefer, who carried it into the end zone to give Colgate an unusual victory.
“That kid (Sullivan) went to spike the ball, to me the clock should have kept running,” said CCU Coach David Bennett. “I don’t know why the officials stop the clock and decided to put eight seconds left and allow them to get set.”
The loss gives Coastal Carolina their first 0-2 start to a season in their six year history.
“There were points we left out there, we could have at least scored 21 points, but we couldn’t get it in and it cost us,” said quarterback Zach MacDowall.
CCU led every second of the game except the last one. Justin Durham put the Chants on the board first with one of his three field goals in the opening quarter. Colgate would quickly counter on their ensuing drive with a Jacob Stein 30- yard kick to tie the game at three.
The Chants posted a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter, spurred by a turnover and a defensive stop. Coastal Carolina forced a fumble by Colgate running back Jordan Scott deep in CU territory, recovered by Keon Cunningham to give the Chants the ball at the Raiders' 11. Four plays later, quarterback Zach MacDowall surged in from a yard out to put Coastal Carolina up 9-3. However, Durham's point after attempt sailed wide to keep the margin at six. Following a stand on the next drive, Coastal Carolina went 64 yards in just three plays and 52 seconds to push the lead to 16-3. MacDowall connected with wide receiver Trent Usher for 32 yards and 22 yards on the drive, which wrapped up with a five-yard run by running back Eric O'Neal for the 13-point halftime advantage.
Coastal Carolina got it going late in the third quarter and converted an 11-play, 59-yard drive into points early in the fourth, as Durham hit from 21 yards out to make it 19-3 with 14:16 to play. Colgate followed it up with a march on its next possession, going 63 yards in 12 plays over 4:48, with Scott taking it in from a yard out. Quarterback Greg Sullivan's rush for the two-point conversion make it 19-11 with 9:22 to play, with the game suspended at that point for the next hour and 50 minutes.
After stopping Coastal Carolina on a fourth-and-1 at their own 26, Colgate took the ball 74 yards down the field with Sullivan throwing his first career touchdown pass to tight end Adrien Schriefer for his first career touchdown reception from six yards out to make it 19-17 Coastal Carolina with 3:06 on the game clock. Colgate then went for two-point conversion and Scott was stopped at the 1-yard line by linebacker Derrick Frasier to keep the margin at two.
After the Chanticleers could not manage a first down, the Raiders took over on their own 31-yard line with 1:44 to play in the contest. Colgate moved down to the Coastal Carolina 16 and quickly set up for a game-winning field goal. A clock error set the time at 8.0 and with it running, the Raiders had a bad snap over the holder's head. However, the holder - backup quarterback Ryan Meyers - recovered the ball and lofted a pass to Schriefer streaking into the left corner, who hauled it in and streaked into the end zone for the game winner with no time on the clock.
Colgate outgained Coastal Carolina 394-304 and held a commanding 36:05-23:55 time of possession advantage. The Chanticleers did force three turnovers in the game while only giving up one.
MacDowall was 11-19 for 120 yards for Coastal Carolina, while O'Neal had 17 rushes for a career-high 115 yards and one touchdown on the afternoon. Usher had four carries for 70 yards to lead the Chanticleer receivers.
For the Raiders, Scott recorded his 14th-straight 100-yard rushing game, setting a new Colgate school record for consecutive games in a year, with 190 yards on a Coastal Carolina opponent record 43 carries. Sullivan was 14-22 for 110 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while wide receiver Pat Simonds had six receptions for 55 yards. Colgate head coach Dick Biddle also became the winningest coach in school history with 96 career wins.