Liberty’s 9-1 season has been nothing short of remarkable, but the Flames still have one final regular season game to play.
While the status of Saturday’s game is in jeopardy, the Flames are still slated to play this Saturday, Dec. 5 against Coastal Carolina. Taking on the undefeated Chanticleers will be a tall task for the Flames.
Coastal Carolina’s offense is averaging 38.7 points per game. The Chanticleers, who rank 37th in the nation in total offense, are coming off a 49-point outburst against Sun Belt member Texas State. The week before, Coastal put up 34 points on defending Sun Belt champion Appalachian State.
Freshman quarterback Grayson McCall has starred for the Chanticleers in 2020. McCall has completed 117 of 174 passes this season for 20 touchdowns and only one interception. McCall’s favorite target is junior wideout Jaivon Heiligh, who has caught 41 passes for 682 yards and eight touchdowns this year.
Heiligh has over twice as more receptions as Coastal’s next leading receiver: junior tight end Isiah Likely. Likely, who, has four receiving touchdowns is averaging nearly 25 yards per reception. Likely appears to have fully recovered from an early-season lower body injury and expect him to receive plenty of targets against the Flames.
CJ Marable is the undisputed leader of Coastal’s rushing attack. Marable has almost twice as many rushing attempts as anyone else in the Chanticleer running back room. He’s racked up 592 yards on 119 rushing attempts for 8 touchdowns this season.
Senior linebacker Silas Kelly, who leads the team in tackles and is second on the team, has emerged as the leader of Coastal Carolina’s defense. 6’2, 260 senior defensive end Tarron Jackson leads the team with 8.5 sacks in 2020, and senior defensive C.J. Brewer is a disruptive presence in the middle. Coastal Carolina is ranked 13th in the nation in total defense behind the 12th-ranked Liberty Flames.
Prior to Malik Willis’s positive COVID-19 test, I liked the Flames in this game by a touchdown. Additional rumors have emerged about possible COVID cases among Liberty’s defense, which could make an already difficult opponent even more difficult for the Flames.
Given recent developments, I think Coastal covers the 10-point spread and hands the Flames their second loss of the season.
