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2020 Coastal Carolina

11–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Jamey Chadwell, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Coastal Carolina in 2020, game by game: won at Kansas 38–23; won vs. Campbell 43–21; won vs. Arkansas State 52–23; won at No. 21 Louisiana 30–27; won vs. Georgia Southern 28–14; won at Georgia State 51–0; won vs. South Alabama 23–6; won vs. App State 34–23; won at Texas State 49–14; won vs. No. 8 BYU 22–17; won at Troy 42–38; lost vs. No. 22 Liberty 34–37+51−3Won 38–23 at Kansas+15KansasWon 43–21 vs. Campbell+22CampbellWon 52–23 vs. Arkansas State+29Arkansas StateWon 30–27 at No. 21 Louisiana+3No. 21 LouisianaWon 28–14 vs. Georgia Southern+14Georgia SouthernWon 51–0 at Georgia State+51Georgia StateWon 23–6 vs. South Alabama+17South AlabamaWon 34–23 vs. App State+11App StateWon 49–14 at Texas State+35Texas StateWon 22–17 vs. No. 8 BYU+5No. 8 BYUWon 42–38 at Troy+4TroyLost 34–37 vs. No. 22 Liberty-3No. 22 Liberty
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atKansasW 38–⁠2344%
Sep 18vsCampbellW 43–⁠2178%
Oct 3vsArkansas StateW 52–⁠2348%
Oct 14at21LouisianaW 30–⁠2724%
Oct 24vsGeorgia SouthernW 28–⁠1457%
Oct 31atGeorgia StateW 51–⁠054%
Nov 7vsSouth AlabamaW 23–⁠680%
Nov 21vsApp StateW 34–⁠2344%
Nov 28atTexas StateW 49–⁠1479%
Dec 5vs8BYUW 22–⁠1745%
Dec 12atTroyW 42–⁠3861%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvs22LibertyCure BowlL 34–⁠3759%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Liberty 37–⁠34 in the Cure Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 24 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
  2. Wk 9: 20
  3. Wk 10: 15
  4. Wk 11: 15
  5. Wk 12: 15
  6. Wk 13: 16
  7. Wk 14: 14
  8. Wk 15: 11
  9. Wk 16: 9
  10. Final: 14

Sun Belt Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Louisiana

Consensus All-AmericanTarron Jackson, DL

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearJamey Chadwell, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 9
Points
446–⁠243
Coach
Jamey Chadwell
Elo
1648 +230 this season
SP+ rating
6.6 No. 37 of 130; offense No. 29, defense No. 60
SRS
13.9 No. 10 of 77 in FBS
Returning
80% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 116 roster talent No. 124 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Newland Isaac and Willy Korn
Defensive coordinator
Chad Staggs
Offense
Up-tempo spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 127
  • Defense15th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted11th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted10th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2750%1.2412th of 127
Defense-0.0142%1.1715th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
0.02 def		49% off
42% def		—11th off
10th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.9own 3313% allowed
Defense3.3own 2618% caused

CORE rating 21.6, 5th of 127 (offense 12.5, defense -9.1).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsGrayson McCall QB2,488 yds
Passing touchdownsGrayson McCall QB26 TD
Rushing yardsC.J. Marable RB889 yds
Rushing touchdownsC.J. Marable RB12 TD
Receiving yardsJaivon Heiligh WR998 yds
Receiving touchdownsJaivon Heiligh WR10 TD
TacklesSilas Kelly LB80 tkl
SacksTarron Jackson DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsD’Jordan Strong CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Willie Moise DT★★★No. 448
Donavon Johnson TE★★★No. 1654
Shon Brown OLB★★★No. 1724
C.J. Beasley RB★★★No. 1844
Willie Lampkin DT★★★No. 1964

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.825
Receivers32.70.811
Offensive line13.00.805
Defensive line73.00.825
Linebackers53.00.818
Defensive backs23.00.819
Athletes and specialists13.00.821
Whole class213.00.820

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 6Tarron Jackson DEPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 141

The 2020 roster

141 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Coastal Carolina8–⁠011–⁠114
Louisiana7–⁠110–⁠115
App State6–⁠29–⁠3
Georgia Southern4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia State4–⁠46–⁠4
Troy3–⁠45–⁠6
South Alabama3–⁠54–⁠7
Arkansas State2–⁠64–⁠7
Texas State2–⁠62–⁠10
UL Monroe0–⁠70–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.