CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina football will kick off the 2020 season on national television this Saturday night, Sept. 12, versus the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT and will air live on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).
 
SEASON-OPENER SUCCESS
• Coastal Carolina is 10-7 all-time in season openers in the program's 17-year history.
 
• CCU is 6-5 in season openers on the road, which included four-straight season-opening road wins from 2013-16.
 
• The Chants are 1-2 in season openers in their brief FBS history with a win over UMass (2017), a loss at South Carolina (2018), and a home defeat versus Eastern Michigan (2019).
 
UNUSUALLY LATE START TO THE YEAR
• With the season opener coming on Saturday, Sept. 12, the contest will be the latest season-opening contest in the program's young history.
 
• The latest date in which the Chants' opened up the season was on Sept. 6 in the program's inaugural season in 2003.
 
FLIPPED THE SCRIPT
• The Coastal Carolina University and Kansas University athletic departments agreed to flip the home and home football games with the Chanticleers heading to Lawrence, Kan. this season and the Jayhawks returning the game at Brooks Stadium in 2021.
 
• Coastal was set to host its first-ever Power 5 opponent at Brooks Stadium in the Jayhawks on Sept. 26. However, due to the Big 12 announcing that its member schools can play just one non-conference game at home this season, the two schools decided to keep the series alive with Kansas hosting the Chants in 2020.
 
• Now, the Chants will host Kansas on Sept. 11, 2021, inside Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.
 
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS
• Kansas will kick off its second season under national championship-winning head coach Les Miles after going 3-9 last year in his first season at KU.
 
• The Jayhawks were picked to finish 10th in the 2020 Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll.
 
• Kansas' offense last season struggled, as the Jayhawks ranked 90th nationally in total offense (377.3 ypg), 86th in rushing offense (145.8 ypg), and 100th in scoring offense (23.5 ppg).
 
• However, KU returns do-it-all running back Pooka Williams Jr. who finished with 1,061 rushing yards and 214 receiving yards last season. He was named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list, preseason All-Big 12 first team by the conference and Athlon Sports, and was ranked as No. 25 on the 247Sports.com top-50 player rankings in college football.
 
• The offense also returns senior wide receiver Andrew Parchment who was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list and the All-Big 12 preseason first team. Last season, he caught 65 passes for 831 yards and seven touchdowns.
 
• Last season, the defense was non-existent for the Jayhawks, as Kansas ranked 122nd nationally in total defense (475.2 ypg), 120th in scoring defense (36.1 ppg), 124th in rushing defense (225.7 ypg), and 98th in passing yards allowed (249.5 ypg).
 
• The KU specialists earned preseason honors, as punter Kyle Thompson was named a preseason fourth-team All-American by Chris Sail Kicking and long snapper Logan Klusman earned preseason fourth-team All-American accolades from Rubio Long Snapping. Thompson was also named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list.
 
• The Jayhawks are 74-50-7 all-time in season openers, including a 14-6 mark since 2000.
 
SERIES VERSUS KU
• Coastal Carolina is 1-0 all-time versus the Kansas Jayhawks in football.
 
• The Chanticleers got two touchdowns from running back CJ Marable while the Coastal defense picked off two interceptions, held Kansas to 4-of-10 on third downs, and stopped the Jayhawks three times on fourth down (0-of-3) to help hold the Big 12 team scoreless over the final 56:32 of the game.
 
CCU AGAINST THE BIG 12
• After having never played a Big 12 foe in the program's first 16 years (2003-18), the Chants will play a Big 12 school for the second-straight season on Saturday, Sept. 12. *
(West Virginia was a member of the Big East in 2010)
 
• CCU is 1-0 versus the Big 12 all-time with the lone matchup coming last year at Kansas (Sept. 7, 2019).
 
CCU VERSUS POWER 5'S ALL-TIME
• Coastal is 1-7 all-time versus teams out of the Power 5 conferences with the lone win coming at Kansas last season.
 
DATE              POWER 5 FOE                  RESULT
08-30-08          at #22 Penn State              L, 10-66
10-31-09          at Clemson                         L, 3-49
9-4-10              at  #25 West Virginia          L, 0-31
9-17-11            at Georgia                          L, 0-59
11-23-13          at #11 South Carolina        L, 10-70
11-4-17            at Arkansas                        L, 38-39
9-1-18              at South Carolina               L, 15-49
9-7-19              at Kansas                          W, 12-7
 
CCU VERSUS POWER 5'S UNDER CHADWELL
• Under head coach Jamey Chadwell, who is in his second full season and third overall as the head coach at Coastal Carolina after serving as the interim in 2017, the Chants are 1-1 all-time in contests versus Power 5 opponents.
 
DATE  POWER 5 FOE                      RESULT
11-4-17 ^        at Arkansas                 L, 38-39
9-7-19              at Kansas                   W, 12-7
 
^ interim head coach
 
PRESEASON LOVE
• 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 Chanticleers had a total of 10 student-athletes named to Phil Steele's 2020 Preseason Sun Belt All-Conference teams, highlighted by Jackson and Gallagher both earning first team honors. Marable, Brewer, and Biscardi were all named to the second team, while Likely and redshirt junior Jeffrey Gunter earned a spot on the third team. Graduate transfer wide receiver Kameron Brown, redshirt senior offensive lineman Trey Carter, and redshirt senior linebacker Silas Kelly all landed on the fourth team.
 
• CCU had a total of seven student-athletes named to the preseason Athlon Sports' 2020 All-Sun Belt team. Marable and Jackson headlined the group with first team honors, while five other returners in Carter, Likely, Brewer, Gallagher, and Biscardi were all named to the second team for their respective areas.
 
• Highlighted by first team selection and "Best Pass Rusher" honoree Jackson, Coastal Carolina saw five student-athletes named to the Lindy's Sports 2020 Preseason All-Sun Belt teams. Marable and Biscardi were named to the second team offensive team at all-purpose back and placekicker, respectively, while Brewer and Gallagher both earned a spot on the second team defense.

For complete coverage of CCU football, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalFootball (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUSports.com.