CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will open up Sun Belt Conference play this Saturday, Oct. 3, as the Chants will host Arkansas State at noon ET on ESPN2 inside Brooks Stadium.
  • With Saturday's game versus Arkansas State set to air on ESPN2, Coastal Carolina will have played all three of its games in 2020 on national television.
  • Since joining the Sun Belt Conference as a full-time member in 2017, the Chanticleers have gone just 1-2 in conference-opening contests.
 
• However, this is the first time in their young Sun Belt history that the Chanticleers will open up Sun Belt Conference play at home inside Brooks Stadium.
  • Coastal Carolina and Arkansas State both had great days in the state of Kansas on Sept. 12.
 
• The Red Wolves defeated Kansas State by a score of 35-31 in Manhattan, Kansas on Saturday afternoon.
 
• Some eight hours later and 85 miles down the road in Lawrence, Kansas, the Chanticleers upended the Kansas Jayhawks by a score of 38-23 to complete the Sun Belt sweep of the Big 12 on Sept. 12.
  • CCU is coming off an open week and hasn't played since defeating Campbell on Sept. 18.
 
• A-State has had each of its last two scheduled games postponed — Sept. 19 vs. Central Arkansas and Sept. 26 vs. Tulsa — due to COVID-19 issues. The Red Wolves have not played since beating Kansas State on Sept. 12.
  • Since playing a full FBS schedule in 2017, the Chanticleers have posted an FBS-program best season-long three-game winning streak twice.
 
• With a win versus the Red Wolves on Saturday, the Chanticleers will have started 2020 with a three-game winning streak — matching their FBS record for the longest winning streak in a single season.
 
• If you go back to the 2019 season, Coastal Carolina has won three-straight games and will be going for its fourth-straight victory on Saturday versus A-State.
  • The Chanticleers are 0-3 all-time versus the Arkansas State Red Wolves on the gridiron.
  • Picked to finish second in the West Division in the 2020 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll, Arkansas State is 1-1 this season with the win coming over Kansas State of the Big 12 (Sept. 12).
 
• The Red Wolves once again feature a high-powered offense, as A-State is averaging 456.5 total yards of offense per game highlighted by an average of 314.5 passing yards per game.
 
• The A-State offense is utilizing a two-quarterback system in Logan Bonner and Layne Hatcher this year. Bonner is 31-of-51 for 337 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions, while Hatcher has gone 19-of-28 for 227 yards and two scores through the air this season.
 
• While 14 different players have at least one reception on the year, the two quarterbacks' favorite target is wideout Jonathan Adams.
• Adams has hauled in 14 catches for 163 yards and three scores on the year, all team highs.
 
• The Arkansas State defense is allowing 438 yards per game with an average of 281.5 yards coming through the passing game and just 156.5 yards on average on the ground.
 
• Secondary members Jarius Reimonenq and Elery Alexander both lead the team with 11 and 10 total tackles, respectively, while defensive lineman Forrest Merrill leads the A-State defense upfront with nine stops.
 
• The A-State defense has just 2.0 sacks and just one takeaway, an interception, on the year.
  • The number one passing offense in the Sun Belt Conference will be facing off with the number one passing defense in the conference on Saturday at Brooks Stadium.
 
• Arkansas State enters the game with the number one passing offense in the conference thus far this season with an average of 314.5 yards through the air.
 
• Coastal Carolina has the number one ranked passing defense in the Sun Belt this season, as the Chants are allowing on average just 163.0 passing yards per game.
 
• The Red Wolves are tied for second in the league with six passing touchdowns on the season, while the Chants are second in the league in interceptions with three.
  • Coastal Carolina redshirt senior linebacker Silas Kelly was tabbed the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week, the league office announced on Sept. 21.
 
• In just his second game back after missing the final 10 games last season and undergoing two surgeries on his knee, Kelly led the Chants with eight tackles, five of which were solo stops, 2.0 sacks, and 2.0 tackles-for-loss in the win over Campbell (Sept. 18).
  • The Coastal Carolina football program had a total of six Chanticleers garner preseason All-Sun Belt accolades — Tarron Jackson (first team), CJ Marable (second team), Isaiah Likely (second team), C.J. Brewer (second team), Teddy Gallagher (second team), and Massimo Biscardi (second team).
  • The offensive line has proved to be a wall over the Chants' first two games of the season, not having allowed a single sack and just 2.0 tackles-for-loss on the year.
 
• The Chanticleers lead the nation in fewest tackles-for-loss allowed at 2.0 and average tackles-for-loss allowed per game at 1.0.
 
• CCU also ranks among the nation's leaders in fewest sacks allowed this season with zero.
• Last time out, the Chants did not allow a single sack or tackle-for-loss in the win over Campbell (Sept. 18).
  • Over his collegiate career, including his Big South-leading 1,038 rushing yards at Presbyterian College (FCS) as a true freshman in 2017, Marable has rushed for 2,969 yards which puts him just 31 yards shy of 3,000 career rushing yards.
  • The NCAA does not combine FBS and FCS statistics among its rankings for career leaders; however, if they did, Marable's 2,969 rushing yards would rank fifth among the active leaders in all of NCAA.
  • The Coastal defense has been in the offensive backfield all season long, as the Chanticleers have totaled 10.0 sacks and 20.0 tackles-for-loss over their first two games.
 
• In the 38-23 win over the Jayhawks in the season opener (Sept. 12), the Coastal defense totaled 5.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles-for-loss.
 
• The 12.0 tackles-for-loss were tied for the fourth-most in a single game in CCU history and the most since registering 12.0 versus Bethune-Cookman in 2013.
 
• The defense's 5.0 sacks on the night versus Kansas (Sept. 12) were tied for the 10th-most in CCU's single-game history and the most since picking up 5.0 at Gardner-Webb in 2014.
 
• The defense followed up its season-opening performance the following week with 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles-for-loss in the victory over Campbell (Sept. 18).
  • The Coastal Carolina defense has done more than its share to set up the CCU offense this season, as all four of the Chants' turnovers have led directly to points for the offense.
 

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