A done deal, Brigham Young replaces Liberty to play at Coastal Carolina

No Liberty, how about Brigham Young?

It hadn’t all been a done deal when BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe received a phone call Wednesday afternoon. It was Coastal Carolina athletic director Matt Hogue. Holmoe had heard the hear-say, the rumors, now he’s being infirmed that if once-beaten, 25-ranked Liberty can’t make it to Conway, S.C. Saturday, would the Cougars be interested?

Holmoe thought it would be a match made in heaven, two undefeated ranked teams, so he contacted head coach Kalani Sitake, and he seconded the idea. So did the school’s administration. Now it depended on Liberty and not long after, the Flames had cancelled out due to a coronavirus pandemic outbreak among the team and staff.

Then came a call from Sun Belt officials in the conference that the Chanticleers play (BYU is an independent), to ESPN director of football, Kurt Dargis. No Liberty, he was told, but Brigham Young has agreed on the game, and can ESPN showcase it? Sure enough, and ESPN, which owns the rights for both Coastal Carolina and BYU, scheduled it for 3:30 p.m.as the College Game Day.

There’s no telling how many fans would be allowed in the stands for the match-up in Conway, S.C., but the game is on. Both teams are 9-0, the Cougars are ranked eight, Coastal Carolina 14th. Both are hoping to win this one and get a chance to play in a major bowl game.

Before this, the Chanticleers, Division 1 national baseball champion in 2016, had an impressing opening win at Big 12 opponent Kansas, 38-23, and two more over Sun Belt foe Louisiana (4-1) on the road and a home 34-23 victory over Appalachian State (7-1), while hitting the road and shutting out Georgia State, 51-0.

They had one postponement, that against Troy on the road, and it is rescheduled for Dec. 12. have totaled 348 points and allowed 151.

As for Brigham Young, which is led by junior quarterback Zach Wilson, it opened by stunning Navy on the road, 55-3, and had a tight tussle at home with the University of Texas-San Antonio before prevailing 27-20. And you can’t ignore the 43-27 win at a good Houston team.

It had a cancellation at Army in West Point, and a postponement at home versus San Diego State, which is now set for Dec. 12.The Cougars have put together 428 points and yielded 115.

Who knows if the prices listed as “low” as $450 were intended for the tilt with Liberty or if it carries over to this game. If so, then expect to see home field support, and maybe some BYU fans. On Wednesday night, Brigham Young’s equipment truck began the 2,300-mile trip from Provo to Conway’s campus, which is 10 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

At Coastal Carolina, where the Chants are having their best season since moving to the highest level of Division 1 football in 2016. When the transition from prepping for Liberty, whose lone loss was 28-27, went into overdrive  to BYU, head coach James Caldwell stated they’d have to keep it simple.

“When it’s this short of timeframe,” he said, “you got to back to things that you hope you can do well and see it will hold up against a really quality opponent that’s coming here.”

Sitake had his own thoughts.

“We are just very happy to play this game,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for both teams and we’re hoping to return home with our 10th victory.”

Holmoe had been trying to add games for weeks. Washington notified him the week before Thanksgiving that it couldn’t guarantee it if a  PAC-12 team became available, which occurred when the Huskies arranged to face California. Thus, it became Liberty to fill the spot, now it’s Brigham Young, which first wanted to see where it stood in the College Football Playoff rankings before it committed. But when it received the phone call and later accepted, it was a done deal.

And on Thursday both teams were at practice, with BYU expected to fly south Friday morning.

Thus, the upstart Chanticleers and barnstorming Cougars will meet in perhaps the most intriguing game of the college football weekend, one that could position the winner for a multi-million-dollar postseason payday.