Coastal Carolina Football Moves Back into Top 5
11/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
CONWAY - For the 23rd time in the last 25 ranking periods, Coastal Carolina football is a consensus top 5 program as the Chanticleers moved up four spots in both polls to land at #4 in this week's FCS Coaches' and STATS Top 25 polls.
FCS Coaches' Poll
STATS FCS Top 25
Coastal Carolina is #5 among FCS schools in the RPI, according to RealTimeRPI.com, while the website has the Big South has the second-best conference RPI, trailing the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Coastal Carolina is coming off a 46-0 victory over Gardner-Webb this past weekend. It was the Chanticleers first ever shutout versus a conference opponent, the first time CCU has posted two shutouts in one season (defeated Alabama A&M 55-0 on Oct. 3) and the fourth time in school history Coastal has pitched a shutout as the Chants defeated Chowan 51-0 in 2007 and Charleston (W.Va.) in 2003.
The Chanticleers (8-1) will defend its ranking on Saturday at 2 pm when new Big South member and first-year football program Kennesaw State (6-3) comes to Brooks Stadium for CCU's regular-season home finale. As part of the game, Coastal will: • honor its 2015 senior class approximately 40 minutes prior to kickoff. • have Youth Day. • have Military Appreciation Day.
Coastal Carolina football has been the model of consistency since head coach Joe Moglia took over the program for the 2012 season. The Chanticleers began the Moglia era with a 2-4 record, but won six straight to close out the year before falling to then #3 Old Dominion in the second round of FCS Division I Championship. Also, since that 2-4 start, Coastal is 34-3 over its last 37 regular-season games versus FCS opponents and 38-6 over its last 44 overall games versus FCS opponents, including a 4-3 mark in seven playoff games.
In addition to CCU's impressive record, the Moglia-led Chanticleers were ranked 24th in the nation in the final poll of 2012 and have remained among the nation's top 25 in 42 consecutive ranking periods. Also, Coastal has been ranked among the nation's top 10 in 35 of the last 36 polls (falling to #11 once in 2013), ranked among the nation's top 5 in 27 of the 55 pols during the Moglia era which equates to 49 percent of the time and held down the #1 ranking 10 weeks, including eight weeks during the 2015 season.
Jacksonville State remains as the nation's consensus top-ranked team. However, North Dakota State is #2 in the STATS FCS poll and #3 in the FCS Coaches' poll while McNeese State is #2 in the FCS Coaches' Poll and #3 in the STATS FCS poll. The polls agree on teams 4-7 (Coastal Carolina, South Dakota State, Illinois State and William & Mary). Chattanooga, Richmond and Eastern Washington round out the top 10 in the STATS FCS poll, while Charleston, Chattanooga and Eastern Washington comprise the rest of the top 10 in the FCS Coaches' poll.
Other teams of note include Western Illinois at #32 in the STATS FCS poll while Bryant is tied for 37th in the FCS Coaches' poll.
Fans can talk about the Gardner-Webb game, the national polls and the upcoming game versus Kennesaw State tonight during the Joe Moglia Radio Show with co-host Joe Cashion. Fans are encouraged to interact with Coach Moglia during the live broadcast from 6-7 pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Carolina Forest. For those unable to attend in person, the show can be heard locally on 100.3 FM The Team or on www.GoCCUSports.com. Also, fans can call (888) 477-7234 or send an email at askthecoach@coastal.edu for Coach Moglia to answer. Fans can also submit questions via Twitter (@GoCCUSports) by using the hashtag #askcoachCCU.
