Gameday Guide: Coastal Carolina vs. UMass preview, kickoff, odds, TV, radio, tickets
The Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers are hosting the Massachusetts Minutemen in their final non-conference game of the regular season. Spectators are encouraged to wear teal for a “teal out” at Brooks Stadium. Here’s what you should know about the game.
The opponent: UMass Minutemen
UMass, an FBS independent, has struggled mightily under third-year head coach Walt Bell, who was previously the offensive coordinator at Arkansas State (2014-15), Maryland (2016-17) and Florida State (2018).
The Minutemen are 1-18 under Bell and have lost 14 consecutive games since defeating Akron in September 2019. They played just four games last season due to the pandemic. CCU defeated UMass 62-28 in Bell’s first season.
The team has struggled the most on defense and has allowed an average of 526 yards and 46 points per game this season. Of the 16 touchdowns they have allowed in 2021, 12 have come on the ground.
“You hope that we can rush the ball no matter what the situation, that’s what we try to take pride in,” CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said. “. . . Hopefully we’ve got a chance to break some long runs and maybe get some longer touchdowns on the ground. They’ve not been very successful but they’ve also played very heavy run teams. Pittsburgh prides themselves on running the ball, Boston College, that’s all they did in the game, and Eastern Michigan is very similar. So they’ve played three teams that all they did was pound and ground you.”
UMass has played a difficult schedule and has been more competitive in the past couple weeks, however. Following a 51-7 loss at Pittsburgh to start the season, it has lost by 17 to Boston College and 14 to Eastern Michigan last week when it amassed 30 first downs.
Bell has been active in the transfer portal and has added a number of Power Five transfers to improve the roster, but has started a true freshman quarterback in the past two weeks. Colorado State grad transfer Tyler Lytle was 14-for-31 for 167 yards in the opener, and has missed the past two game with an undisclosed injury. Freshman Brady Olson is 36-for-67 for 502 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions.
“We don’t overlook any team,” said CCU senior tight end Isaiah Likely. “Every team that we play, that week is like a championship game. You’re going to get our best foot forward every time you play Coastal Carolina football.”
Coastal Carolina team notes
Coastal is ranked 17th in both the Associated Press and USA Today AFCA top 25 polls, dropping a spot in the AP poll and moving up a spot in the coaches poll following last week’s 28-25 win at Buffalo. CCU has been ranked in 15 consecutive AP and coaches polls since breaking into the rankings in October 2020.
The Chants have injury concerns entering the game. Chadwell said senior kicker Massimo Biscardi, who missed last week’s game with a lower body injury, is not likely to play, leaving place kicking duties to freshman Liam Gray, who made his four extra point attempts last week but hit the upright with a 22-yard field goal attempt.
“He has actually kicked the ball really well all camp and we have a lot of confidence in him and that’s why we ran him out there,” Chadwell said of Gray. “. . . Based off what he does in practice, his performance, there’s a confidence there. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”
Chadwell said Wednesday a number of players would be game-time decisions because of injuries. Players who could be nursing injuries include running back Shermari Jones, who said he is dealing with a turf toe injury that was aggravated in the fourth quarter at Buffalo; cornerback D’Jordan Strong, who aggravated a shoulder injury last week, and tight end Isaiah Likely, who saw limited playing time last week but on Wednesday deemed himself healthy.
“It was a very physical game, the most physical we’ve had in the first three games,” super senior linebacker Silas Kelly said. “. . . When you get to feel that early in the season, the third game of the year, that’s something that’s good for us because we got to feel that, we got to feel what somebody really coming after us and giving us their best shot feels like, and we were able to punch back and find a way to get a win.”
Chadwell mentioned on Wednesday that players who may receive more playing time, possibly beginning this week, include redshirt freshman running back Isaiah Connelly of Orlando; redshirt freshman tight end D.J Johnson of Garland, Texas; redshirt freshman offensive lineman Tyler Wagner of Lilburn, Georgia; N.C. State transfer redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Zovon Lindsay of Fayetteville, N.C.; and freshman safety Tobias Fletcher of Atlanta.
CCU has won nine straight home games, with its last loss on the Surf Turf to Louisiana (48-7) on Nov. 7, 2019. The program record for most consecutive home wins is 13 from 2012-14.
Last meeting: Chanticleers vs Minutemen
Coastal won 62-28 on Sept. 21, 2019, in Amherst, Mass. (CCU leads the all-time series 3-0, with 10- and 11-point wins in 2017 and 2018).
Coastal vs. Kansas betting line
Coastal Carolina is favored by 36 points. The over/under is set at 65 1/2 points.
Score prediction
Coastal Carolina 55, UMass 20: The UMass defense is among the worst in the nation so CCU should be able to approach the 62 points it scored against the Minutemen in 2019.
Coastal Carolina vs UMass Saturday: Watch, listen
- Who: No. 17 Coastal Carolina (3-0) vs UMass (0-3)
- When: 1 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
- Occasion: CCU’s final non-conference game, a spectator ‘teal out’
- Streaming online: ESPN+ (subscription through www.espn.com/watch)
- TV talent: Jeff McCarragher (play by play) and Nate Ross (analyst)
- Radio: WRNN 99.5 FM
- Tickets: Are available at the stadium box office on game day, Chanticleer Athletics Ticket Office in Arcadia Hall at 132 Chanticleer Drive West, by calling 843-347-8499 (TIXX), or through the tickets@coastal.edu email
- Weather: Temperatures during the game are forecast to reach 79 degrees with winds at 5-10 mph, partly cloudy skies and less than a 5-percent chance of rain
- Live stats: Through www.Coastal.statbroadcast.com and GameTracker
What is a Chanticleer?
Coastal Carolina has one of the more unique nicknames and mascots in all of sports. The Chanticleer is featured in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and is a rooster that rules the barnyard with cunning and wit. He battles to the end using his brain to come out victorious.
The rooster is a play off the University of South Carolina’s Gamecock, as CCU was part of the USC system until becoming independent in 1993. It’s pronounced ‘SHON-ti-cleer’ and the school doesn’t take kindly to mispronunciations.
What’s up with CCU’s teal ‘Surf Turf’?
Don’t try to adjust your TV settings, it’s just that color.
After playing on natural grass at Brooks Stadium for the first 12 years of the program’s existence, Coastal Carolina installed an artificial teal-colored ‘Surf Turf’ prior to the 2015 season, reflecting one of the school’s primary colors and its proximity to the beach.
Where is Coastal Carolina located?
CCU is in Conway, South Carolina, a neighboring town to the better known Myrtle Beach. The college is east of the center of Conway and is only about 12 miles from the beach along the Atlantic Ocean.
Conway is a more quaint town with a riverfront along the Waccamaw River compared to Myrtle Beach’s vibrant and bustling tourism businesses featuring nightlife, shopping, restaurants, beachwear stores and miniature golf courses.
