The end of BYU’s perfect season was a heartbreaker.
A matchup of two top 20 teams ended up being a battle Saturday, as No. 18 Coastal Carolina beat No. 13 BYU 22-17 in a back-and-forth contest at Brooks Field in Conway, South Carolina.
The Cougars got the ball back at their own 18 with just under a minute trailing by five, without a timeout. BYU eventually drove to the Coastal Carolina 18 with three seconds to play — aided by a 33-yard pass to Gunner Romney on a second-and-19 — but Dax Milne was stopped by a trio of defenders at the 1-yard line on a strike over the middle. BYU quarterback Zach Wilson was 5 of 6 passing on the drive for 90 yards (the Cougars had a key holding penalty to start the drive).
It’s the Cougars’ first loss of the year — BYU falls to 9-1 — and deals a costly blow to their postseason hopes. The Cougars had dreams of reaching a New Year’s Six game before, but Saturday’s outcome extinguishes those dreams.
The Chanticleers, at 10-0, stay in the hunt for a prestigious bowl in a game that saw the lead change hands four times. It’s the biggest win in Coastal Carolina’s short four-year history as a FBS member, and second over a top 25 opponent — the other was earlier in this historic season for the Chanticleers.
Coastal Carolina used an effective rushing attack to grind out the win, while BYU’s normally potent offense was grounded.
3 takeaways
Coastal Carolina wins the trenches
The Chanticleers were expected to be overpowered in the trenches, but the undersized home team was having none of that. Coastal Carolina dominated on both lines, and offensively, that translated to 281 rushing yards.
The Chanticleers’ three touchdown drives all took 11 or more plays (17, 11 and 13) and Coastal Carolina drove 85 yards for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. That came after its first touchdown — in the first quarter — came on a 94-yard drive, the longest scoring drive in school history.
All that game-control dominance led to a nearly 16-minute edge in time of possession for Coastal Carolina.
BYU struggles offensively
BYU has made a habit of being efficient on offense in 2020, but that Cougar offense did not show up in South Carolina. Instead, BYU scored just once after halftime — on a 29-yard Jake Oldroyd field goal — and put up its lowest point total of the season, 30 points under their average.
The Cougars ended up with 405 yards of total offense, but they had little to show for it. Wilson was held to 240 passing yards (on 19 of 30 passing) with one touchdown and an interception, and BYU was just 4 of 10 on third downs. The Cougars failed on both their third-down attempts in the critical fourth quarter, as the team squandered its late-game opportunities.
Coastal Carolina’s defense swarms to the ball
For much of the night, Wilson was under constant pressure from the Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina finished with five tackles for loss and a sack, and two of those tackles for loss came in the fourth quarter.
The Chanticleers’ lone sack also came at a critical time in the third: with BYU holding on to a 17-16 lead and at the Coastal Carolina 38 on a second-and-8, Derick Bush dropped Wilson for a 12-yard loss. That was as close as BYU got to scoring until its final drive.
End of fourth quarter
Coastal Carolina 22, BYU 17
The Cougars are stopped one yard short of a winning touchdown, after two previous fourth-quarter drives ended in punts. BYU drove from its own 18 to the Coastal Carolina 18 with three seconds left, but Dax Milne was stopped short of the touchdown in a thrilling finish.
🚨 COASTAL CAROLINA TAKES DOWN BYU 🚨 pic.twitter.com/U0aE0Xy3I9
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 6, 2020
11:35, fourth quarter
Coastal Carolina 22, BYU 17
CJ Marable scores on a 2-yard touchdown run to cap an impressive 13-play, 85-yard drive after the Chanticleers forced BYU to punt near the end of the third quarter. For the first time since the Houston game — and only the second time all year — BYU trails in the fourth quarter. Coastal Carolina chewed up more than six minutes on the scoring drive, a theme of today’s game.
End of third quarter
BYU 17, Coastal Carolina 16
The Chanticleers are in BYU territory and driving to start the fourth quarter.
A few notes through three quarters:
- BYU has 307 yards, to 282 for Coastal Carolina
- The Chanticleers have had the ball for 12 more minutes than the Cougars
- Coastal Carolina has 223 yards rushing
6:32, third quarter
BYU 17, Coastal Carolina 16
BYU’s second turnover of the game — a Tyler Allgeier fumble inside the Cougar 30 — leads to 40-yard field goal for the Chanticleers. The BYU defense held on three straight plays, though, to force the field-goal attempt.
12:28, third quarter
BYU 17, Coastal Carolina 13
The Cougars take the opening possession of the third quarter for a score, as Jake Oldroyd tacks on a 29-yard field goal after the 56-yard drive stalls inside the 15. A 23-yard pass to Neil Pau’u got the Cougars into the red zone.
End of second quarter
BYU 14, Coastal Carolina 13
The Cougars tried to score to end the half, but a Zach Wilson hail mary was intercepted at the goal line and there was a scuffle following the play. Here’s a few first-half notes:
A scuffle broke out at halftime of the BYU-Coastal Carolina game. pic.twitter.com/hpDXTgabCR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 6, 2020
- BYU has 239 yards of total offense, scoring on two of its four first-half drives. Wilson was 6 of 13 in the opening two quarters for 107 yards and a touchdown, along with the pick.
- Coastal Carolina kept the BYU offense off the field for much of the first half, running 39 plays to 28 for the Cougars. The Chanticleers had 10-minute edge in time of possession and have 215 yards, 171 coming on the ground.
- Coastal Carolina is 2 of 2 on red-zone opportunities, while BYU hasn’t reached the red zone yet, instead scoring twice on 40-plus yard plays.
1:45, second quarter
BYU 14, Coastal Carolina 13
The Cougars have another long touchdown, as Dax Milne caught a pass and made several nice moves to stay inbounds on a 41-yard touchdown catch. Zach Wilson and the Cougars go 94 yards in just six plays to retake the lead.
DAX MILNE TIP-TOE
— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) December 6, 2020
pic.twitter.com/9XRrvgW5M1
4:00, second quarter
Coastal Carolina 13, BYU 7
The Chanticleers make BYU pay for not converting a fourth down on its previous drive, as Coast Carolina drives 51 yards on 11 plays to score on a fourth-down, 1-yard carry from Reese White. Coastal Carolina has 158 rushing yards and possessed the ball for 19 minutes, more than 12 minutes than BYU so far.
9:54, second quarter
BYU 7, Coastal Carolina 6
The Chanticleers had another promising drive going before Grayson McCall fumbled in BYU territory and the Cougars recovered. BYU couldn’t capitalize, though, going for a fourth-and-1, and a double pass ended up in an incompletion when Gunner Romney dropped the pass.
13:50, second quarter
BYU 7, Coastal Carolina 6
Tyler Allgeier gets BYU on the board with a 42-yard touchdown run up the middle, as the Cougars march 76 yards in just four plays to counter Coastal Carolina’s touchdown. Zach Wilson completes his first pass of the game, a 16-yarder to Neil Pau’u to get BYU past midfield.
BYU’s offensive line for Heisman
— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) December 5, 2020
pic.twitter.com/GTLAgRbDZb
End of first quarter
Coastal Carolina 6, BYU 0
A few notes from the first quarter:
- Coastal Carolina has 118 yards of total offense, 94 of those coming on the scoring drive. The Chanticleers have 89 yards rushing on the ground.
- Zach Wilson was 0 of 3 passing in the first quarter, while BYU has 55 yards of total offense, all on the ground.
- That was the first first-quarter touchdown the Cougars have allowed since Oct. 24 against Texas State.
- Coastal Carolina has run 21 offensive plays, to 10 for BYU.
0:10, first quarter
Coastal Carolina 6, BYU 0
The Chanticleers strike first, going on an impressive 17-play, 94-yard drive — the longest scoring drive in school history — for the game’s first touchdown. CJ Marable scores on a 6-yard run, as Coastal Carolina chewed up significant amount of yards on the ground on the scoring drive.
Coastal Carolina strikes first 💥 pic.twitter.com/MdXE7bkSHU
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 5, 2020
9:15, first quarter
BYU 0, Coastal Carolina 0
We have punts from BYU and Coastal Carolina on their opening possessions, as both teams had drives stall near midfield. BYU had a 91-yard touchdown pass wiped out by a penalty.
Pre-game
Here are a few links to stories you may want to read prior to or during the game:
A few personnel notes from Deseret News BYU football beat writer Jay Drew:
BYU is out on the field warming up now; RB Lopini Katoa (ankle) going through all the motions, will apparently play.
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) December 5, 2020
BYU cornerback Keenan Ellis and DE Tyler Batty won't play tonight, per KSL radio.
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) December 5, 2020
The Cougars huddle up one final time before the big game:
BYU wraps up warmup and heads to locker room for final instructions pic.twitter.com/uJxOevoaGn
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) December 5, 2020