How Coastal Carolina knocked off its first ranked opponent in history on national TV
Coastal Carolina was picked by the coaches in the Sun Belt Conference to finish dead last in the league this season.
The Chanticleers are a far cry from the team they were predicted to be.
Coastal remained undefeated and knocked off its first ranked FBS team in program history — a team considered by many to be the best in the Sun Belt — with a 30-27 win over Louisiana at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La., on Wednesday night.
The country got to see the biggest win in CCU history, as the game was broadcast on ESPN and was the only college football game played Wednesday.
Coastal improved to 4-0 with the win over the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-1), who are ranked No. 21 in both the AP Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll.
“This is a great start for us: first time beating a top 25 team, 2-0 in the league for the first time ever, and maybe if we’re lucky we’ll be ranked this week, too,” CCU head coach Jamey Chadwell told WRNN FM 99.5. “It was a great football game. We were the only show in town and it paid dividends for the people watching.”
The Chants are 2-0 in the Sun Belt after winning just two league games in each of their first three seasons in the conference after moving up from the FCS level.
“We don’t want to stop right now because we’ve got a long season to go,” junior wide receiver Jaivon Heiligh told WRNN. “We’ve got more dreams than just beating this team and being ranked.”
A 40-yard field goal by junior Massimo Biscardi with 4 seconds to play provided the deciding points.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson McCall remained undefeated as a starter, completing 17 of 24 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. Senior running back C.J. Marable had 113 yards from scrimmage and touchdowns rushing and receiving, and Heiligh had eight receptions for 108 yards and a TD.
There was one turnover in the game. Coastal Carolina got it, and it played a vital role in the outcome.
With the score tied late in the third quarter, sophomore cornerback Jordan Morris intercepted a Levi Lewis pass to the right sideline at the Louisiana 26, cutting in front of the receiver as the ball floated a bit.
McCall then scrambled up the middle for 22 yards to the UL 4 to set up his own 3-yard TD run on a roll out to the right that gave CCU a 27-20 lead.
A 51-yard run by Lewis on a scramble to the Coastal 1 set up a 1-yard Elijah Mitchell TD run that tied the score with 12:44 to play.
Louisiana junior cornerback A.J. Washington dropped an interception over the middle on CCU’s ensuing possession, and McCall took advantage of the break by converting a third-and-11 with a 30-yard pass to Heiligh to the Louisiana 46. The CCU drive stalled and Charles Ouverson’s punt was downed at the UL 1 with 9 minutes left.
CCU forced a punt with 5:30 to play and began the game-winning drive at its own 16, using 11 plays to cover 61 yards to set up Biscardi’s field goal.
“I had all the positive influence around me,” Biscardi, who missed an extra point in the first half, told WRNN. “[Teammates] knew, they believed in me, I just had to finish it for the game.”
Coastal made a rare and nearly critical mistake with about 7 minutes remaining that nearly cost it the game. Louisiana punted on a fourth-and-5, but both Heiligh and freshman Manny Stokes Jr. were wearing the same uniform No. 6, resulting in a 5-yard penalty that gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a first down.
The CCU defense forced a punt three plays later, however, to allow the offense to embark on its game-winning drive.
“The turnover was huge,” Chadwell told WRNN. “We tried to give it back, we had two guys on the field with the same number. But I love our team, and they fight. I hope Teal Nation realizes that. This team fights. They never think they’re out and just keep believing.”
Coastal had just 1 more yard of offense than UL with 414, but it controlled the clock with a time of possession advantage of more than 16 minutes, holding the ball for 38:11 while running 17 more plays.
Lewis, a senior three-year starter, was 14 of 24 for 173 yards with a touchdown and interception, and Louisiana had 240 yards rushing on 31 carries, led by Lewis’ 84 yards on six attempts.
The game featured four ties and five lead changes, as neither team led by more than one score. “Every time we had something happen they answered us right back,” Chadwell said.
The teams traded 10-play, 75-yard scoring drives on the first two possessions of the game.
Louisiana won the opening coin toss and took the ball, and completed its drive with a 12-yard TD reception by Jalen Williams on a shallow slant.
The Chants responded with a 1-yard Marable TD run, and McCall came out sharp, completing all three pass attempts on the drive for 44 yards.
After the defenses took over and forced punts on five consecutive possessions, the Chants drove 84 yards in seven plays to take a 13-7 lead with 1:03 left in the first half on a 13-yard Marable TD catch over the middle after releasing around the right end out of the backfield.
Coastal allowed Louisiana to drive 77 yards in just 54 seconds to tie the score on an 8-yard run on a quarterback draw by Lewis with 5 seconds remaining in the first half. The senior QB completed 4 of 6 passes on the drive for 61 yards, including a 23-yarder to Williams to the CCU 8-yard line with 9 seconds left in the half.
Missed extra points by Biscardi and UL’s Nate Snyder, who hit an upright, led to the 13-13 halftime score.
Coastal received the second-half kickoff and held the ball for more than 8 minutes while driving 75 yards in 16 plays to take a 20-13 lead on a 6-yard TD catch by Heiligh on third-and-goal.
McCall’s dart went through the hands of sophomore tight end Patrick McSweeney at the goal line and into the chest of Heiligh about 5 yards behind him at the sideline. The drive included a fourth-and-1 conversion at CCU’s own 34 and a pair of third-down conversions.
Louisiana took less than 3 minutes to answer and tie the score on a 9-yard run by Mitchell that capped a seven-play, 66-yard drive.
The Chants played without one of their top offensive weapons, junior tight end Isaiah Likely, who is averaging more than 30 yards per catch with three touchdowns this season but sat out with a lower body injury that was unannounced prior to the game.
Coastal has won both of its games at Cajun Field, defeating UL 30-28 in 2018, and avenged its worst beating as a Sun Belt member, 48-7 last year on national TV on a Thursday night at Brooks Stadium.
“This is just an accomplishment for us,” Heiligh told WRNN. “They’re a great team. We’ll see them again in the Sun Belt championship. That’s what we’re shooting for is a Sun Belt championship.”
Coastal puts its unbeaten record on the line at noon next Saturday against Georgia Southern in Conway.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 11:17 PM.
