Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah Likely has a record-setting night in win over Arkansas State
It was Isaiah Likely’s time to shine on a record-setting night Thursday in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
The senior NFL tight end prospect was this week’s star in Coastal Carolina’s dynamic offense, catching eight passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns in the No. 15 Chanticleers’ 52-20 win over Arkansas State at Centennial Bank Stadium.
The four TD receptions set a CCU single-game record, and the 232 yards are second in school history to Malcolm Williams’ 266 receiving yards against Louisiana-Monroe in 2017.
“We’ve shared that we think he’s obviously the best in the country, and I’ve not seen every tight end so that’s maybe an unfair statement,” CCU coach Jamey Chadwell said. “But I mean eight catches for 230-something yards and four touchdowns, and truth be told I probably could have thrown it to him five or six more times and he probably would have had 400 yards.
“So he’s really good, he’s a weapon for us and the way the defense was playing it was something we had to take advantage of, and he showed out tonight. . . . He was physical, he showed his speed and he showed his athleticism.”
Quarterback Grayson McCall served up Likely’s massive performance on the ESPNU broadcast, completing 18-of-23 passes for a career-high 365 yards and the four TDs to his tight end before resting for most of the fourth quarter with a big lead.
The redshirt sophomore entered the game leading the nation in completion percentage (80.2), yards per pass attempt (12.94) and passing efficiency, and will likely still be leading those categories going into his next start.
“Having the best quarterback in the nation throw you the ball time and time again, understanding that if he trusts you anything is possible,” Likely said.
The Chants (6-0) amassed 685 yards of offense, which is second in school history to the 690 recorded against Charlotte in 2014, against a Red Wolves defense that is the worst in the nation by far in yards allowed with 583 yards surrendered per game.
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Shermari Jones, Reese White and backup QB Bryce Carpenter combined to rush for 276 yards on 21 carries to average more than 13 yards per rush.
CCU’s defense held the Red Wolves (1-5) to 51 yards of offense in the first half before allowing 222 in the second half, and finished the game with eight tackles for loss including four sacks. The Chants recorded their second turnover of the season in the fourth quarter when defensive lineman C.J. Brewer caught a pass that was deflected high into the air.
The Coastal-Arkansas State game was just one of two FBS games played Thursday night, along with Houston-Tulane.
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Going bowling in 2021
Coastal became the first team in the nation to be bowl eligible with its sixth win of the season, and the team already had T-shirts to celebrate waiting on them in the locker room, courtesy of Bowl Season.
Bowl Season is a nonprofit collective coalition of the 44 bowl games in the traditional college football postseason. Formerly the Football Bowl Association, it is dubbed “A Celebration of College Football.”
“We’ve been bowl-eligible one time in our whole life, so we’ve got shirts that say bowl-eligible and we celebrated in the locker room with that, so I think that’s a big deal for us,” Chadwell said.
There were 14 FBS teams with five wins entering this week’s games. Bowl Season says it is giving every team that reaches the six-win plateau team-brand “Bowl Bound” T-shirts in the locker room following the win.
“That’s just a blessing to be in this spot to be the first team to be bowl eligible,” CCU super senior defensive lineman C.J. Brewer said. “It’s a big thing to get those six games early, but our goal is to win them all. Our focus is not just being bowl-eligible, our focus is on the championships and that’s what we’re working for. To get into a bowl game that’s just a bonus, it’s an extra ballgame we get to play.”
Out of the gate quickly
Coastal got off to an amazingly fast start offensively. The CCU defense forced a Ryan Hanson punt on the first possession of the game following a sack by linebacker Silas Kelly, but the 55-yard kick went out of bounds at the CCU 1-yard line.
The Chants went 99 in just two plays. Following a run for no gain by White, McCall hit Likely over the middle for a 99-yard touchdown pass on their second play of the game. The safety was drawn up toward the line on a fake handoff in the backfield, and Likely slipped behind him to catch a pass at about the 20 and race the other 80 yards to the end zone.
“We ran the first play that we’ve been running for awhile, and they lined up the way we thought they would line up but they didn’t adjust the way we thought they would adjust,” Chadwell said. “So we came right back to that immediately. We had a play-action off the same play . . . so we said, ‘Hey what the heck let’s get it out there,’ because of the way they were playing and you can’t go much farther than 99 yards, so that was obviously a great way to start.”
No longer the one and only
Coastal entered the game as the only team in the nation that hadn’t allowed a passing touchdown.
That included 662 football programs in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II and Division III, according to ESPN.
The Chants no longer have that exclusive distinction.
CCU got through 22 quarters this season without a passing TD allowed before Red Wolves quarterback Layne Hatcher threw two touchdowns in the third quarter.
The Chants held Florida State transfer quarterback James Blackman to 7-of-12 passing for 70 yards in the first half before he was pulled at halftime, though Red Wolves receivers dropped three of his passes, including one or two that could have been for big gains and even touchdowns. Blackman had a sling on his shoulder on the sideline after halftime.
Hatcher sparked the A-State offense a bit in the second half, completing 13-of-29 passes for 185 yards.
Poll implications
Coastal entered the game ranked 15th in both The Associated Press Top 25 Poll and USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll.
The Chants have moved up in both polls following all but one of their wins this season after beginning the season ranked 22nd and 24th, respectively, and Thursday’s win should keep the Chants comfortably in the top 15.
Up next
The game that has been anticipated all season is up next for the Chants following their sole off week of the season. CCU travels to Appalachian State on Wednesday, Oct. 20 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff that will be broadcast on ESPN2 and have the attention of the college football world.
The teams were the co-favorites to win the Sun Belt’s East Division in the league’s preseason coaches poll and both have been impressive thus far this season. The Mountaineers are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference, with their only loss by two points at a ranked Miami Hurricanes.
“We need some time off. We’ve got some guys that are banged up,” Chadwell said. “. . . So it’s good to have a break with six more to go. Obviously we know what the next game is, but we’re really not even focused on that. More than anything for us we need a break from a body standpoint so we can get our guys back healthy for the stretch run. We know how good they are. They’re the best team in this league, we know that, but we’ll worry about that when we start practicing again.”
While the Chants prepare for the game that will likely determine which team represents the East Division in the conference title game, the Mountaineers have a showdown Tuesday night on ESPN2 at reigning Sun Belt co-champion Louisiana (4-1), which has lost only to the ranked Texas Longhorns.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 11:17 PM.
