It’s About time.

Two of the best stories of the college football season will meet on Saturday in Conway, S.C., with the ESPN College Gameday treatment and all. The winner will get a huge boost toward the Group of Five’s bid for an NY6 Bowl, adding on for BYU, a last-second heave to impress the CFP Committee into a College Football Playoff berth.

I am still disappointed that BYU didn’t get Cincinnati in this spot. The Bearcats still have this weekend open, so we have no idea if there was any real chance of getting a game between them and the Cougars, but man that would've been a treat and possibly enough for Cincinnati to have a real chance at a spot in the top four. 

Nonetheless, we get a real treat, and BYU gets a blessing in a ranked opponent when Liberty backed out due to COVID-19 concerns (We hope everyone in the Flames program has a speedy recovery, they have been fun to watch this year). As the two teams scramble to get ready for each other (literally, look here), let’s see what we will get on Saturday.

While we have all seen the high-flying offense and overall dominance of BYU, the Chanticleers have arguably a better resume than the Cougars. Coastal has more power five wins than BYU (winless Kansas is a stretch to call “Power 5), but we have to count it, and also has a ranked win at Louisiana. Those are two wins that BYU does not have.

Let’s remember, this is the Chanticleers *fourth* season at the FBS level, where it has never had a winning record before, let alone be ranked.

The best marker on BYU’s thin resume is a Boise State team down to its third-string quarterback on the blue turf, but the sheer impressiveness of BYU’s 51-17 win was enough to help push the Cougars to No. 13 in the latest CFP rankings.

The ultimate x-factor, like every BYU game, is Zach Wilson. He’s the projected first-round quarterback in this game, so if he exceeds, so will BYU and that explosive offense. The Coastal defense is stiff. They’ve allowed under 17 points a game, get to the quarterback a ton, and force a bunch of turnovers.

If we expect Wilson and Co. to light it up like they have all year, it might come down to how effectively Coastal can keep it out of his hands. The Chanticleers have been excellent at controlling the clock this year. Four different rushers have over 300 rushing yards, and QB Grayson McCall has made hardly any mistakes with a 20-1 TD-INT ratio this season. They’ll go against a BYU defense that has allowed less than 300 yards a game.

So much good football in this game. Such a shame that it’s going to get relegated to ESPNU. Let’s hope the committee has that channel. For one of these teams, it will be a statement in a historic and crazy season.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

Historically speaking, there has not been much debate between which universities are better between Group of 5 schools and Power 5 Major Universities. For the average fan, the difference between Group of 5 and Power 5 schools are schools like Clemson and Marshall University. Excluding the pandemic responses, this season has looked a little different in that the only unbeaten university in a conference has come from a Group of 5 conferences and that is the Sunbelt to be exact. 

The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers are currently 7-0 in the overall standings and maintain a large lead in conference play. Not only have the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers won every game this season, but they have won the majority of their conference games in a convincing fashion, silencing critics of G5 schools who argue against the competition level. In a convincing 51-0 defeat over conference opponent Georgia State, the Chanticleers quickly began to move up college football rankings. Since moving up to the Sunbelt from FCS Big South Conference, this is Coastal Carolina’s first official ranking in the top 25 and they do not have any plans to look back. 

Not only is Coastal Carolina a team to watch as a Group of 5 schools, but they are only a few years removed from being an FCS contending University. 2017 was Coastal Carolina’s first official year in FBS as an independent university and the following year they were granted bowl eligibility. As this fairly new, but good football team makes waves around college football, will they win enough to make a permanent stamp? 

The strength of Coastal Carolina starts with their efficiency on offense. Averaging just under 40 points per game and converting over 52% of 3rd down conversions, the Chanticleers offense has been super high powered and they have given defenses a tough time trying to slow them down. Their offensive guru, CJ Marable has absolutely dominated opposing defenses this season on the ground. Marable has over 500 yards of total offense this season accompanied by 10 touchdowns on the season with a perfect balance of 5 on the ground and 5 receiving. To assist Marable, wide receiver, Javon Heiligh, has proven to be a standout target racking in 6 touchdowns on the season accompanied by a team-leading 35 receptions and 610 yards. 

Coastal Carolina is not the only current non-power 5 school that is undefeated either. Liberty University is off to their best start ever as an FBS university, however, because they are currently independent, we have decided to exclude them this early in the rankings. With Coastal Carolina scratching the top 15 rankings and with a few more games remaining in the season, the sky is the limit for this undefeated team. 

Writer

-By: LeMarkus Bailey