On Wednesday, news reached Coastal Carolina that the biggest house game in the show’s history is under serious threat.
The Chanticleers, ranked 14th, were scheduled to face No. 25 at Liberty on Saturday in a Top 25 game that convinced ESPN to send “College GameDay” to Conway, South Carolina for the first time.
But the COVID-19 had slipped into the Liberty program. Coastal Carolina needed a Plan B, like BYU. a main bowl.
“Last week I said, ‘Kalani, it’s like when there’s a married couple about to take a bath and you’ve got your bag packed at the door, that’s how it’s going to be,’ BYU’s athletic director Tom said. Holmoe . . . “You might have to pick up your bag and leave. “
With ESPN and the Sun Belt Conference, Coastal Carolina and BYU reached an agreement Thursday morning to play a game about 56 hours later.
Upstart Chanticleers (9-0) and Cougars barnstorming (9-0) will face off Saturday in the most intriguing game of school football weekend, which could position the winner on a multimillion-dollar postseason salary.
Carolina Coastal athletic director Matt Hogue said Liberty officials contacted wednesday to say the Flames might not play. Holmoe said a friend contacted him the same day to tell him to keep an eye on Liberty’s situation.
“Once on that stage this year, you know we’re all betting on another book,” Hogue said. “Obviously we invested a lot this weekend, so we’re looking to start exploring the opportunities that might arise. “
ESPN school football director Kurt Dargis said he won a call from Sun Belt Conference officials Wednesday afternoon informing him of the potential challenge of what the network had become a demo game.
ESPN owns the television rights to Sun Belt and BYU, and helped independent Cougars rebuild a schedule that collapsed when the Power Five Conferences made the decision to play championship games most commonly during the pandemic.
Dargis called Holmoe and asked if BYU was interested. Holmoe said he had to go through Sitake, but it only took forty-five minutes for AD to come back with the news: if Liberty couldn’t play, BYU would.
“It was a whirlwind and it was very fast, ” said Dargis.
Although the Cougars did not have a game scheduled for Saturday, they practiced on Monday and Tuesday as if they could, without constant opponents, only possibilities.
“I’m grateful to our coaches, ” said Holmoe. ” They saw a lot this week. “
ByU’s scheduled game will be on December 12 at San Diego State.
Holmoe’s been looking to make games for weeks. Washington called the week before Thanksgiving, but the Huskies couldn’t make sure they wouldn’t have to retire if any other Pac-12 equipment was available. which in the end did not take place anyway.
On Wednesday, BYU temporarily moved into Coastal Carolina practice and coaches spent long nights in the un sure game would be played. Early Thursday, before he had the last word, Holmoe said he had sent byU’s appliance truck for the 2,200-mile Adventure from Provo, near the foot of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, to the shore campus, about 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
In Carolina, where the Chants have been enjoying their season since they moved to the highest point of Division I football in 2016, the transition from Liberty’s readiness to BYU has moved at full throttle. Coach Jamey Chadwell said they’re going to have to be simple.
“When the deadline is so short, you have to go back to the things you hope you can do well and see if it resists a smart opponent coming here,” Chadwell said.
The start of Saturday’s game was postponed from 3. 30pm to 5. 30pm. It’s because, well, each and every little gesture helps.
What’s at stake?
BYU is recently ranked 13th in the school football playoff rankings. Not only is he too far away to be a playoff contender, but it also means that Star Quarterback Zach Wilson and the Cougars want to climb at least some places to have a chance to win an offer for a New York Six Bowl game.
An appearance in the Fiesta or Cotton bowls would be worth $4 million to BYU. If the Cougars can’t break through the highest point of postseason games, it probably wouldn’t mean a highly ranked opponent and a fraction of the payout.
Coastal Carolina is No. 18 at the CFP, even more successful in a main bowl offering: the Chants have two paths. They can reach the 10 most sensitive and take a general offer. They can also earn a place as the most sensible outdoor ranked convention champion in the Power Five leagues, most likely wanting help in the form of a loss or two of the Cincinnati No. 7 of the American Athletic Conference.
Coastal has already secured a place in the Sun Belt name game on December 19 against Louisiana-Lafayette.
For school sports fans, this game probably looks like a Bracket Buster, those TV movie fights from mid-sized basketball groups looking for their March Madness resumes.
This type of programming flexibility is unknown in school football, where non-conference matches are established years in advance. In the spring of 2019, Clemson and Oklahoma announced a series of homes and houses for 2035 and 36.
But there’s nothing typical about 2020.
“It’s exciting. And it’s fun, ” said BYU offensive lineman James Empey. “Everyone is riding the wave and looking to prepare as much as possible. “
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