Coastal Carolina will begin the 2021 football season ranked in the AP, coaches’ top 25
Coastal Carolina will begin the 2021 season as a top 25 team.
The Chanticleers are No. 24 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll released Aug. 10, and are ranked 22nd in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released Monday.
The coaches poll is voted on by 65 Football Bowl Subdivision coaches through the American Football Coaches Association, including Coastal’s Jamey Chadwell.
The Chants finished the 2020 season ranked 14th in both the AP Top 25 and coaches poll, and 12th in the final College Football Playoff Ranking. They were ranked in both the AP and coaches’ polls for 10 consecutive weeks.
CCU went 11-1 with an overtime loss to Liberty in the Cure Bowl after not posting a winning record in three previous seasons at the FBS level, and knocked off fellow top-25 programs BYU and Louisiana-Lafayette during the 2020 season.
Coastal returns 19 of 22 starters on offense and defense this season, as well as most of its primary special teams players.
The Chants are joined in the top 25 by No. 23 Louisiana, giving the Sun Belt Conference two teams in the preseason ranking. Coastal is a co-favorite to win the conference’s East Division with Appalachian State in the preseason Sun Belt coaches poll, while Louisiana is the favorite to win the West Division and conference overall.
CCU is one of just three teams from Group of Five conferences to be ranked, as Cincinnati of the American Athletic Conference is No. 10.
In a top 25 released last week by the NCAA, Coastal is ranked 19th and Louisiana is 25th. The Ragin’ Cajuns are ranked 23rd in the AP poll.
The top of the USA Today Coaches Poll looks familiar, as the top five is comprised of No. 1 Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Georgia. The same five teams are in the AP top five.
CCU men’s soccer is also ranked
The Coastal Carolina men’s soccer program is ranked 25th in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) preseason poll.
The Chanticleers ended the 2020 season ranked 24th after another Sun Belt Championship and the program’s 17th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
The Chants are moving to Conference USA this season, and with the new conference comes an even tougher schedule as six of their 2021 opponents are ranked in the preseason top 25 including three C-USA members.
Coastal travels to C-USA member Marshall, the reigning national champion and preseason No. 1, in the third game of the season on Sept. 4, while other opponents in the early rankings include Clemson (6th), Wake Forest (7th), Kentucky (14th), Charlotte (18th) and High Point (24th). A seventh opponent in UNC Greensboro also received votes in the poll, and South Carolina is also an opponent in C-USA this season.
CCU’s season will begin with the first of three exhibition matches Thursday when Duke comes to Conway for a 7 p.m. match. The regular season begins against No. 14 Kentucky on Aug. 26 at the CCU Soccer Stadium.
This story was originally published August 10, 2021 at 12:52 PM.
