Breaking down the game

•  Series | Liberty leads 5-4

•  Weather | 68 degrees with a 90 percent chance of rain

Key number: 42-0

Liberty stunned Coastal Carolina last year in Lynchburg, Va., while taking a 42-0 lead late in the second quarter (en route to a 63-27 win). Several Coastal players have admitted that memory remains fresh in their minds this week.

Key matchup

Liberty receiver Pat Kelly vs. Coastal’s cornerbacks. The secondary has arguably been the weak link for the Chanticleers this season, and Kelly enters this game as the Big South Conference’s leader in receptions with 47 for 517 yards. The 6-foot-2 senior should see plenty of targets Saturday, too, as the Flames lost their second-leading receiver – Ryan Ferguson – to injury last week. Senior cornerback Tre Henderson has been vulnerable of late and could be targeted frequently by the Liberty passing attack.

Quarterback

Senior Aramis Hillary has gone a CCU-record 159 consecutive passes without an interception. For the season, he’s passed for a Big South-best 1,657 yards with 11 touchdowns and four picks while rushing for 201 yards and two scores. … Redshirt-freshman Josh Woodrum seized the reins at quarterback for Liberty after some early-season competition and has completed 73.5 percent of his passes for 1,359 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games and five starts.. He was a modest 16-of-24 for 173 yards, one touchdown and one pick last week against Division II Concord.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Running back

Have the Chants become a proficient rushing team all of a sudden? Coastal has rushed for 532 yards over the last two games – one against a vulnerable VMI defense but also against a stout Stony Brook unit – and senior Jeremy Height has averaged 6.9 yards per carry for 186 yards in that span. It’s an encouraging development if Coastal can sustain it. … The Flames, meanwhile, boast two of the Big South’s best running backs in junior Aldreakis Allen (665 yards, five touchdowns) and senior Sirchauncey Holloway (536-5). Holloway went for 142 yards last week against Concord, while Allen had 94 yards on the ground.

•  Edge | Liberty

Wide receiver

In losing its second-leading receiver to injury last week, Liberty is a bit thin at the position. So Kelly is the guy to watch here and should get a lot of attention from Woodrum. Junior Jaquan Glover (three catches for 25 yards) moves into the starting lineup in place of Ferguson. … Coastal junior Matt Hazel ranks third in the Big South with 33 catches for 443 yards to lead a deep and productive CCU receiving corps.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Offensive line

It will be interesting to see how the Chants adjust to the loss of junior left guard Jamey Cheatwood, a three-year starter who sustained a season-ending knee injury last weekend. Sophomore Kevin Hart is a much smaller player at 6-foot-2, 260 pounds, but he’s been rotating in on the other side for a significant number of snaps in recent weeks and the Chants will hope he’s ready for a bigger role. … Liberty has two first-year starters at the tackle spots in junior Hunter Steward (6-7, 290) and sophomore Mitch Hanson (6-5, 300), and that inexperience has showed as the Flames have yielded 19 sacks already through seven games.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Defensive line

Liberty has the top defense in the Big South, holding opponents to 306.9 yards per game, and that has to do mainly with the Flames’ ability to contain the rush. They are yielding a stingy 122.4 rushing yards per game. Up front, senior nose guard Bryant Lewellyn has a team-high three sacks to go with 3.5 tackles for loss while junior Cory Freeman (three tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries) and senior Demetrius Ward (three TFL) have been decent at the ends. Junior tackle Francis Bah, meanwhile, has been slowed by injury this season but led the team with 11.5 TFL and four sacks last season and is rounding back into form. … Coastal’s defensive line is coming off its best game of the season, contributing to the Chants’ five sacks last week while holding VMI to 16 rushing yards (most coming on the final drive).

•  Edge | Liberty

Linebacker

Surprisingly, Liberty does not have a player ranked higher than 18th in the conference in tackles. Junior Scott Hyland paces the Flames’ linebackers with 33 stops. … Coastal sophomore Quinn Backus, meanwhile, was named the Big South’s defensive player of the week for the third time this week and ranks second in the league with 10.7 stops per game. Junior Mike McClure is fourth on that list with 7.9 tackles per game and had 1.5 sacks last week.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Secondary

Coastal Carolina ranks sixth out of seven Big South teams in pass defense, giving up 238.3 yards per game through the air. The Chants have especially had trouble stopping teams on third down, and after seven games, it doesn’t seem like this area is going to be shored up this season. … Junior corner Walt Aikens is having a nice season for Liberty with 33 tackles, an interception, three pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Senior safety Brent Vinson leads the Flames with 37 tackles.

•  Edge | Liberty

Special teams

Sophomore Aaron Sassaman took over kicking duties for Liberty two games ago following an injury to the Flames’ starter and is 0-for-1 on field goals so far. The team is also without its preferred return specialist as senior Kevin Fogg has been out with a broken foot. On the plus side, junior Grant Bowden ranks second in the league in punting at 39.4 yards per attempt. … For Coastal, sophomore Alex Catron is second in the conference in field goals while converting on 7-of-9 attempts and sophomore Austin Cain is averaging a solid 38.8 yards per punt. The return game was quiet a week ago but has also been productive at times for the Chants.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Intangibles

Despite its early-season struggles and inconsistencies, Liberty controls its own path to the Big South championship if it can win out. That said, the Flames have looked plenty vulnerable this fall under new coach Turner Gill. They were down 18 points in the second half earlier this month against a then-winless Gardner-Webb team before rallying, and they kept things close last week with Division II Concord in a 21-13 win. … Coastal has had its struggles, too, with a four-game losing streak, but there aren’t any more ranked teams on the Chants’ schedule and they are coming off one of the more dominant wins in program history with their one-sided 34-7 romp at VMI last weekend.

•  Edge | Coastal Carolina

Pick

Coastal Carolina, 27-24

News and Notes

Weather worries

With Hurricane Sandy expected to cause havoc in the area Saturday afternoon with rain and strong winds, Coastal has made a few changes to its pregame procedures.

The opening of parking lots and ticket booths – 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively – will remain on schedule, but several tents could be affected.

Chanticleer Fan Fest, near the Williams-Brice indoor pool, will be available on a limited basis as weather permits, the alumni tailgate will be moved inside Kimbel Arena and ESPN “The Team’s” pregame radio show will move inside the Brooks Stadium press box.

Umbrellas are not permitted inside the stadium.

Same Liberty?

The Flames have won four of the last five meetings with Coastal while averaging 46.4 points per game.

Of course, a lot changed for Liberty this offseason with coach Danny Rocco taking the Richmond job and standout quarterback Mike Brown graduating.

Those two helped orchestrate a 63-27 win over Coastal in Lynchburg, Va., last year.

New Height

Height, Coastal’s senior running back, is 153 yards away from breaking the program’s single-season record for all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and kick return).

He has 1,014 total yards through seven games to move within range of Patrick Hall’s record of 1,166 in 2004.

By Ryan Young, ryoung@thesunnews.com