#13 BYU to Play #18 Coastal Carolina on Saturday
Reports surfaced on Wednesday afternoon that BYU was preparing to play Coastal Carolina this weekend. The Chanticleers were scheduled to host Liberty on Saturday, but the Flames were dealing with COVID-19 within their program. After receiving virus test results early Thursday morning, Liberty was forced to cancel the game setting up a BYU-Coastal Carolina matchup on Saturday.
Both BYU and Coastal Carolina are unbeaten and both teams are ranked in the top 20 of the College Football Playoff rankings - BYU is #13 and Coastal Carolina is #18. The Cougars have been working tirelessly to add another opponent to their schedule - a game against an undefeated Coastal Carolina team could be exactly what the doctor ordered for BYU.
Despite a dominant 9-0 start, the Cougars' strength of schedule has not impressed the College Football Playoff committee. BYU was ranked in the AP top 10 for multiple weeks when they fell to #14 in the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings. Committee chair Gary Barta cited BYU's weaker schedule when he explained BYU's ranking.
Coastal Carolina beat #21 Louisiana-Lafayette earlier this season, but the Chanticleers' resume was still not enough to justify a top 15 ranking in the eyes of the College Football Playoff committee. A game between Coastal and BYU makes sense for both teams.
BYU opened as a 10-point favorite over Coastal Carolina.
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