What does Coastal Carolina have to gain in matchup with SEC foe Arkansas?

The objectives change a bit for Coastal Carolina this week.

The Chanticleers have been striving for victories through an early-season non-conference schedule that included beatable Football Bowl Subdivision programs Massachusetts and Alabama-Birmingham and Football Championship Subdivision program Western Illinois, and its first five games in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Chants (1-7, 0-5) have managed just one victory in those eight games, however.

A trip to Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas on Saturday brings with it some different considerations, including a $1.5 million payout on Arkansas’ Homecoming weekend, and a judging of performance that won’t necessarily be based on a win or loss.

“We’re going to come in there and compete to win, but more importantly though I think we’ve got to come in and try to do things we’re capable of doing,” CCU interim head coach Jamey Chadwell said. “We’ll try to not turn the football over, try to make sure we’re putting ourselves in the best position to win and play a clean, efficient game. … We need to improve in the areas that we’ve got to get better at, and that’s what we’re going to judge ourselves on.”

Coastal has played two SEC opponents in its history and has lost by a combined 129-10 – falling 59-0 to Georgia in 2011 and 70-10 to South Carolina in 2013. The USC game is the last time Coastal played against a Power Five Conference team.

“It’s the first time we’ve played since 2013 in front of a stadium that size and that type of team, so it’s a big challenge for us and one we’re looking forward to going down there and competing against,” Chadwell said. “It will be a good experience for our young people. I don’t think [most] have ever played in a stadium that holds any more than 40-something thousand, so playing in a place that seats 70,000 or 80,000 will be a great experience for us and another opportunity to go out and have our guys get better.”

A Sun Belt program already has a victory this season over an SEC school, as Troy defeated Louisiana State 24-21 on Sept. 30. It is one of LSU’s two losses this season, though Troy is an established Sun Belt program that is considered one of the three favorites to win the league title, not a fledgling FBS program.

The Razorbacks, who are 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the SEC this season after coming back from a 24-point deficit at Mississippi for a 38-37 win on Saturday, are a 23.5-point favorite over CCU according to Las Vegas bookmakers.

“Anything’s possible,” CCU junior cornerback Anthony Chesley said. “Just because they’re an SEC team doesn’t mean they’re unbeatable. Any given Saturday anything is possible.”

The Arkansas matchup doesn’t come at an ideal time for the Chants, who are coming off a 27-7 loss at home to Texas State and have lost a school-record seven consecutive games.

“Where we’re at right now am I pumped about playing? No, because we’re not very good and we need to continue to learn to get better,” Chadwell said. “But this might be the game we get better, that we go down there and it comes together and we play well and next week you’re going, ‘How in the world did you do it?’ ”

Chadwell believes there are reasons to play teams from the Power Five Conferences aside from the payday.

“I think there is a benefit,” Chadwell said. “The reason is we play at the highest level of football, and ultimately you want to play in a bowl game, and you’d love to get to a New Year’s Day bowl, and you’re going to play people that are some of the best in the country. So we need to see where those people are at. Can we ever get there? I don’t know. But I think to try to get to that level you have to play people at that level. You have to see what they have, how they do it, and see what you need to do to get to that point.”

The season’s toll

The Chants are seven-plus weeks into a stretch of games in 10 consecutive weeks because their byes come in Weeks 2 and 13, and the consecutive games without a break may be contributing to the team dealing with its most injuries of the season.

In addition to quarterback Chance Thrasher still being out from a knee injury incurred in the fourth game of the season, seven other players either missed last week’s Texas State game or left it because of injuries.

CCU is thin at running back, though upperclassmen Marcus Outlow (hip) and Osharmar Abercrombie (ribs) may attempt to play this week at less than full strength. “Right now our plan is both of those guys will play,” Chadwell said. “How well I don’t know, but both of those guys will play.”

Senior tackle Rodney Mitchell (concussion) is out this week, junior guard Adam Lawhorn (knee) is questionable, senior defensive tackle Dwayne Price (concussion) is probable, redshirt freshman linebacker Silas Kelly (arm) is probable and redshirt freshman safety Amir Howard (hip) is probable.

“We’ll trot somebody out there. We’re banged up in certain areas but we’ve got guys who have been practicing and will go out there and do what we’ll ask them to do and try to contribute the way they can,” Chadwell said. “We have hit here lately a few more injuries than we had early on but that’s the grind of the season and not having an open date sort of in the middle like some other people had. But our guys that will step in there and will go out and do their best.”

Two-way threat

Junior Evan Rabon is going to set a few CCU records with one foot, and he has provided 42 points and more consistency of late with his other.

Rabon, a graduate of South Florence High School, punts with his left foot and kicks with his right.

While this is his first year as CCU’s starting kicker, he’s in his third season as the starting punter. He was named to the Sun Belt Preseason Second Team as a punter and is living up to the recognition.

Rabon has boomed a 50-yard punt in six consecutive games, and has two punts of 50 yards in three of them. His 65-yard punt at Appalachian State set a school record, his season average of 43.8 yards per punt is on pace to shatter Austin Cain’s school record of 39.2 yards in 2014, and his career average of 39.8 yards far surpasses Josh Hoke’s record of 37.2.

Of his 118 career punts, 42 have been fair caught, 45 have pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line and just four have reached the end zone for touchbacks.

Rabon said his dual-footed ability goes back to when he was 10. “I played a lot of soccer growing up and my dad always insisted that I be able to use both feet because it could give me an advantage on the soccer field, taking free kicks, corner kicks, anything like that,” Rabon said. “It was mainly for soccer in the beginning but it turned into me kicking.

“It’s more comfortable for me to punt left-footed. I can’t really punt right-footed at all, but I can kick field goals left-footed or right-footed with ease, I just choose to kick right-footed.”

Rabon was the backup for two years to kicker Ryan Granger, who made 33 of 41 field goals and 77 of 80 extra points in the 2015-16 seasons.

Rabon has missed one of 19 extra points and five of 13 field goal attempts, though he has made his last four attempts and has a 52-yarder that is the second longest in CCU history.

“As the season has progressively gone on my unit has been better, I’ve gotten it more down with the snap and the hold,” Rabon said. “I think progressively it has gotten better as we practice it more.”

Game time set

Coastal Carolina’s home game against Troy on Nov. 11 will kick off at 4:30 p.m., giving the Chants their first home game of season that kicks off before 6 p.m.

The occasion is both CCU Athletics Hall of Fame Day as well as Military Appreciation Day.

In a ceremony set to begin at noon, Coastal will induct five new members into its Sasser Athletics Hall of Fame: Josh Norman (football), David Anderson (baseball), Anthony Meo (baseball), Frank Talotta (baseball) and Marie Matrka (women’s tennis). The group will be recognized at halftime of the game.

Additionally, active members or veterans of the military can purchase tickets for themselves and family for $5 each with valid military identification. Tickets can be purchase at the CCU Athletics Ticket Office in Arcadia Hall during the week or at the North Ticket Booth on game day. Call the ticket office at 843-347-8499 for more information.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 10:12 PM with the headline "What does Coastal Carolina have to gain in matchup with SEC foe Arkansas?."