Coastal's loss was mostly about giveaways. Mario Thompson returned a Deuce Bailey fumble 42 yards for a touchdown that put ODU up 14-0 in the first quarter. After that the Chanticleers' defense shut the Monarchs out in the second half and added a safety in the 4th quarter. A defense that holds a team scoreless for 30 minutes is worth something. An offense that scores 8 points at home isn't.
Look past the last game and these teams are pretty similar. Each won 2 of its last 5 and each is 2-3 in the Sun Belt. Both have played plenty of close games. Arkansas State lost 23-20 at Louisiana, lost a 56-49 shootout to South Alabama and beat Georgia State 38-32. Coastal beat Marshall 27-21 on the road and lost 35-32 to App State at home. Both teams also beat Georgia State. Neither has pulled away from anybody, so expect this to be close late.
The forecast for Conway is 51 degrees and clear, with winds around 14 mph. That probably won't stop either offense, but it could matter on deep passes and field goals. Both teams have been kicking field goals in the 4th quarter. The board has no spread, moneyline or total yet. For now the questions are simple: does Owens keep turning it over, and does Coastal stop putting the ball on the ground?
