Pests of the Game
DE Tarron Jackson (three-time Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week; leads the Chants with 8.5 sacks (fourth-most in the FBS)
DT C.J. Brewer (6.5 sacks)
LB Jeffrey Gunter (5.5 sacks)
LB Silas Kelly (leads Chants with 67 tackles)
CB D'Jordan Strong (five interceptions)
QB Grayson McCall (redshirt freshman is completing 67.2 percent of his pass attempts for 1,747 yards with 20 touchdown passes and just one interception; ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing efficiency (188.4) and yards per attempt (10.0); also serves as an integral part of the Chants' run game with 365 yards and five scores on the ground)
RB CJ Marable (do-it-all running back has amassed 867 all-purpose yards and a Sun Belt-leading 14 total touchdowns)
RB Reese White (63 att., 402 yds., 5 TDs)
RB Shermari Jones (68, 341, 3)
WR Jaivon Heiligh (41 rec., 682 yds., 8 TDs)
TE Isaiah Likely (17, 423, 4)
CCU offensive line (stellar in pass protection, giving up just 10 sacks in nine games)
Interesting Facts
ESPN’s College Gameday will be on site for the matchup
The Chanticleers have a top 15 defense nationally
What is a Chanticleer? According to the Coastal Carolina website, “Chanticleer comes from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. More specifically, he comes from the Nun's Priest Tale, a story within Canterbury Tales. The Chanticleer is a proud and fierce rooster who dominates the barnyard.”
Coastal Carolina was picked to finish dead last in the Sun Belt East in the preseason
The Chanticleers clinched their first-ever Sun Belt East title with last week's 49-14 throttling of Texas State on the road, a team BYU beat 52-14.
The Chants have achieved the highest-ever national ranking for a Sun Belt team, coming in at No. 14 in the latest AP poll and No. 18 in the College Football Playoff rankings
The high-powered Coastal Carolina offensive attack averages 38.7 points and 448.3 yards per game
The Chants have a solid three-man rotation in the backfield for a CCU run game that is averaging 220.3 yards per game (19th in FBS)
Chants are allowing just 322.3 yards per game (15th) with 181.4 passing yards and 140.8 rushing yards
Chants feature four pass catchers that all average better than 16 yards per reception
Keys to the Game
Cougar defense will need to play more aggressive against a high-powered Chanticleer offense with a dynamic, dual-threat QB
BYU pass game will need to be selective against Coastal Carolina's "Black Swarm" defense that is 12th in the FBS against the past and allowed just eight touchdown passes all season in addition to picking off 11 passes and generating 31 sacks (sixth-most in the FBS)
BYU run game needs to be established against a good, but not necessarily great, Coastal Carolina run defense that ranks 42nd in the FBS
Prediction
BYU - 35
Coastal Carolina - 24