Coastal Carolina-Liberty Matchup Preview

No. 4 Coastal Carolina (9-1, 4-1 Big South) at Liberty (5-5, 2-3)

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

Where: Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, Va.

TV: ESPNEWS

Radio: WSEA-FM 100.3

Weather Forecast: 59 degrees and clear

Series History: Tied 6-6

Last Meeting: Liberty pulled off a 15-14 win over Coastal Carolina in Conway last year, stunning the Chanticleers in the final seconds by blocking Alex Catron’s 24-yard field goal attempt. With that, the Flames earned their way into the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history while dealing the Chants their lone regular-season loss. Needless to say, neither side has forgotten that ending.

Chanticleers Breakdown

Coastal Carolina is riding the momentum of two lopsided wins, having beaten Gardner-Webb and Kennesaw State by a combined margin of 91-13 over the last two weeks.

It’s the best the Chants have looked all season as the defense seems to have tightened up while the offense has begun maximizing its full potential.

If the Chants can keep it going and take care of business Thursday night, they should secure a coveted top-8 seed and first-round bye in the FCS playoffs. If they lose, they should still be in the postseason, but they’d almost surely have to play a first-round opponent.

Flames Breakdown

Liberty has been a major disappointment this season. The Flames were supposed to be challenging for the Big South championship this year, but instead come into this game with three conference losses – including surprising setbacks to Gardner-Webb and Monmouth.

Liberty nonetheless has plenty of talent and poses a threat to any team it faces. The Flames showed their potential with an early-season win over Montana, but simply have been too inconsistent since then.

Senior quarterback Josh Woodrum is one of the top players in the conference and has passed for 2,510 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions this season. Senior Darrin Peterson has been one of the top receivers in the league for a while now and comes into this game with 64 catches for 836 yards and seven touchdowns.

Surprisingly, though, the Flames’ ground game has been lackluster while ranking last in the conference (116.7 rushing yards per game).

Overall, Liberty ranks fourth in the Big South in scoring at 26.1 points per game, but its defense ranks last while giving up an average of 27.5 points per contest.

Key Matchup

Josh Woodrum vs. Coastal Carolina’s secondary: This is the week everybody finds out just how improved the Chants’ defense really is. Liberty is the best passing team in the conference, averaging 259.7 yards per game through the air. Coastal Carolina, meanwhile, has statistically the worst pass defense in the league, giving up 232.6 passing yards per game. The Chants weren’t tested through the air the last two weeks while playing ground-oriented Gardner-Webb and Kennesaw State teams, but they will Thursday night.

Spotlight Players

CCU quarterback Alex Ross: The standout senior became the Big South’s all-time leader in total offense last week with 10,689 combined passing and rushing yards, and is coming off his first career five-touchdown game.

CCU cornerback Kamron Summers: Like all of Coastal Carolina’s defensive backs, this should be the toughest test they face all season. Summers leads the Chants with five pass break-ups and will likely be very busy Thursday night.

CCU running back De’Angelo Henderson: “Hop” ranks seventh in the FCS with 1,156 rushing yards in addition to 300 receiving yards and has scored 15 total touchdowns. He has scored touchdowns in an FCS-record 24-straight games.

Liberty quarterback Josh Woodrum: The veteran quarterback ranks third in Big South history with 10,421 yards of total offense in his career – two spots behind Ross. He was injured and did not play against Coastal Carolina last season.

Liberty wide receiver Darrin Peterson: The senior leads the Big South by a wide margin with 64 catches for 836 yards and seven touchdowns. He is the Big South’s all-time leader with 3,100 receiving yards and needs 13 catches to break the conference’s career record of 223.

Liberty defensive end Chima Uzowihe: Uzowihe is the best defensive end in the league and leads the Big South with seven sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss.

Scouting Reports

CCU defensive coordinator Clayton Carlin: “They’re very talented, extremely well coached and I think the quarterback’s a big-time player. They’ve got a stable full of receivers that are big-time too so you can’t hone in on one guy. They’ve got three or four really talented guys, so it will be a heck of a game.”

CCU offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude: “They’re probably the most athletic group that we’ve faced. They’re still the same Liberty team, really athletic, long guys. They are very similar to all the stuff we have seen in the past. Maybe not as experienced as some of the [Liberty teams] that we’ve played the last couple of years, but fast, long, athletic, big up front. Chima Uzowihe is probably the best defensive end we’ve played, [and they’ve] got experienced guys in the middle so we’ve got our hands full.”

Notes

▪ Freshman safety Michael Billings is out for this game after sustaining a concussion last Saturday.

Billings had started the last two games for Coastal Carolina. Junior Austin Murillo and sophomore Kerron Johnson (who started the first eight games) are listed atop the depth chart at safety this week.

▪ Coastal Carolina and Liberty have a penchant for playing wild, memorable games. While the Flames won in dramatic fashion in Conway last season, the Chants pulled off a stunner of their own during their last trip to Lynchburg, Va. They were down 19 points late in the third quarter of that 2013 game before rallying for a 55-52 double overtime win.

▪ Former Liberty standout Rashad Jennings, who now plays for the New York Giants, is expected to be in attendance for the game with the Giants on their bye week.

By The Numbers

4-0 | Liberty is 4-0 at home this season and is looking to finish unbeaten at Williams Stadium for the first time since 2010.

5-3 | The Flames are 5-3 in its last eight games against top-25 FCS opponents.

12-2 | The Flames are 12-2 in November under head coach Turner Gill.

15 | Ryan Granger is tied for the Chants’ single-season record with 15 field goals and ranks seventh in the FCS in averaging 1.5 field goals per game.

17.6 | The Chants rank 14th in the FCS in scoring defense, giving up an average of 17.6 points per game.

36.2 | The Chants are tied for 13th in the FCS in scoring at 36.2 points per game.

68.2 | Coastal Carolina’s Alex Ross ranks fifth in the FCS in completion percentage, connecting on 68.2 percent of his passes.

200 | Coastal Carolina is 30-1 under head coach Joe Moglia when rushing for at least 200 yards.

628 | De’Angelo Henderson is the Big South’s all-time leader for receiving yards by a running back with 628.

Prediction

Coastal Carolina 42-31. The Chants are really rolling right now and have a lot to play for with FCS playoff seeding at stake, while the Flames are wrapping up a disappointing season. This rivalry game is always a challenge for Coastal Carolina, but the Chants should be able to take care of business.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina-Liberty Matchup Preview."