Gameday Guide: Coastal Carolina vs. ULM preview, kickoff, odds, stream, radio, tickets
Coastal Carolina, ranked 16th in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll, opens 2021 Sun Belt Conference play against Louisiana-Monroe. The reigning Sun Belt co-champions have won 10 consecutive home games, which is three from the program record set from 2012-14, and nine straight conference games.
The opponent: ULM Warhawks
ULM has been downtrodden for several years, but it made a splash in the offseason when it hired former Auburn coach Terry Bowden as head coach and former Michigan, West Virginia and Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez as offensive coordinator.
The Warhawks were winless in 2020 and had lost 12 straight games through the first week of the season, but Bowden has breathed life into the program. After losing by 35 against Kentucky and squeaking by Jackson State 12-7, the Warhawks shocked Troy 29-16 last week as a 24-point home underdog.
“We are such a work in progress as a football team, but I can’t be more proud of our players and their buy-in into what we’re trying to get done here,” Bowden said. “. . . That was just a great win for us from the standpoint of getting the players to believe in themselves. That’s where it starts. I has to start from a belief, and the belief comes from actually getting win. Unfortunately it’s out of the furnace and into the fire because we’re going to the premier team I think in the conference and probably the premier Group of Five team in the country.”
The Warhawks have done it with solid defense and special teams, as the offense is scoring just 17 points per game and is averaging just 209 yards of offense per game, which ranks last in all of FBS. The defense has been strong up front, as ULM has allowed just 76 rushing yards per game and two rushing touchdowns.
With starting quarterback Rhett Rodriguez — Rich’s son — more than likely out for this week’s contest due to a partially collapsed lung that forced him into a hospital’s intensive care unit after the win over Troy, the Warhawks will rely on either Colby Suits or Chandler Rogers at quarterback. Combined this year, the duo is 4-for-10 for 57 yards with 50 yards rushing.
“We had to convince our players that we’ve done this before, that we have taken over programs before, and if they will do what we say to do, and if they will stay the course then we can get this thing righted,” Bowden said. “Sometimes it takes a game, sometimes it takes a season or two, but we will not waffle. I’m too old, I’ve done it too long. The biggest thing I got from our players was they were willing to do anything and pay the price, and they bought in, and by doing that it cut down a lot of time. We got enough buy-in that we didn’t have to make wholesale changeover at every position.”
Coastal Carolina team notes
As the Chanticleers open conference play, head coach Jamey Chadwell is comfortable with the team’s progress and relative health.
“I’m pleased with where we’re at and the mindset and for the most part our health as well,” Chadwell said. “. . . From a health standpoint we’re heading into the conference healthy and playing with confidence and I think doing good things in all three phases. So I feel good about where we’re at currently and hopefully that will continue Saturday.”
“. . . There are things that we’ve got to clean up, there are things we’ve cleaned up from week 1, week 2 and week 3, there’s a couple things there and we need to continue that. But we’ve gotten better from a fundamentals standpoint and we’ve gotten better from understanding our schemes.”
The Chants have a couple injury concerns entering the game. Chadwell said senior kicker Massimo Biscardi, who has missed the past two games with a lower body injury, and senior running back Shermari Jones, who said he is dealing with a turf toe injury and missed last week’s win, are questionable to play.
If Biscardi can’t play, redshirt sophomore Kieran Colahan of Australia will likely handle placekicking duties, and the Chants have depth in the backfield, primarily with Reese White and Braydon Bennett.
Offensively, Grayson McCall leads the nation in passing efficiency and completion percentage and the Chants are fifth nationally in scoring at 45.5 points per game.
Defensively, the Chants have yet to allow a passing touchdown but have also yet to record a turnover.
“I’m 100 percent sure [we’ll get a turnover] especially with the game plan we have for this week,” senior linebacker Enock Makonzo said. “I think it’s going to be really something special and we’re going to come with some heat.”
The Chants have had announced attendances of more than 15,000 in each of the first three home games, and the student sections have been full for all three.
“I know they love it when they run out of the tunnel and [the students] are going crazy and they’re excited about it,” Chadwell said. “Because we’ve been here when we’ve run out and we’re 3-9 and there’s nobody there. So we’re very appreciative of that and we don’t take that for granted, them being a part of what we’re doing.”
Last meeting: Chanticleers vs Warhawks
ULM won 45-42 on Nov. 23, 2019 in Monroe, La., accounting for CCU’s last conference loss. (CCU is 0-3 vs. ULM all-time, with a 51-43 road loss in 2017 and 45-20 home loss in 2018.).
Coastal vs. ULM betting line
Coastal Carolina is favored by 34 1/2 points. The over/under is set at 57 points.
Score prediction
Coastal Carolina 52, ULM 10: The ULM offense was struggling with its starting QB, and will now rely on a backup against a CCU defense that allowed just three points to UMass last week.
Coastal Carolina vs ULM Saturday: Watch, listen
- Who: No. 16 Coastal Carolina (4-0) vs ULM (2-1)
- When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
- Where: Brooks Stadium, Conway, SC
- Occasion: CCU’s Sun Belt opener, family weekend
- 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 be near 80 degrees with winds at about 10 mph, partly cloudy skies and a negligible 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.
