Pigskin Prophet: State of SC shows off second-best program for College GameDay |
With apologies to Furman and Wofford and SC State, the second-best team in the state is now Coastal Carolina, and the Chants get ESPN’s College GameDay this weekend for their contest against BYU.
It will be the first time ever that College GameDay has made a stop at Coastal Carolina University. The Chants have moved up in the polls to the No. 14 spot in this week’s AP Poll after remaining undefeated and clinching the Sun Belt’s East Division with a win over Texas State on Saturday. Coastal Carolina was all set to host No. 25 Liberty on Saturday, but when the Flames had to cancel due to COVID-19 issues, a plan B came together for another worthy top-25 matchup. No. 8 BYU will be heading to Coastal instead. The schools had been in talks once word came that Liberty might not be able to play. The Cougars had the weekend open and were willing to travel for another high-profile game. The Pigskin Prophet usually tries to help South Carolina – obviously the worst program in the state right now and needing help in all matters – but we’ve taken extra precautions this week and will be helping Coastal Carolina with security. You see, all of the people who used to live in Ohio now live in the Myrtle Beach area, and many of them will try to crash Coastal Carolina’s party with their “O” flags and way-too-big sunglasses and white new balance tennis shoes with jean shorts. This weekend is all about Coastal, not about a team that will play just five games this season. Now, onto the picks, and if you get your feelings hurt, that means I’ve done my job. SATURDAY OHIO ST. AT MICHIGAN ST. Speaking of the Buckeyes, they travel up to East Lansing to take on Sparty. The weather in East Lansing is crappy on a good day, and there is supposed to be a wind chill of 23 degrees during the middle of the game. The good news for Ohio St. is that Justin Fields is great when the opposition is weak, and not so good against good competition. The competition is weak this week, as weak as your chances of getting a sun tan in East Lansing. OHIO ST. 45, MICHIGAN ST. 22 TEXAS A&M AT AUBURN Well, look what we have here. Texas A&M barely escaped Vanderbilt in the season opener and then was assaulted by Alabama in the second game of the season, but they are now in a position to crash the College Football Playoff. Standing in their way is Auburn, where the Gus Bus is leaking oil and making loud clanging noises, the tires are running flat, and Gus is sitting in the back of the bus whispering to himself, “I’m in danger” with a blank look on his face. He is in a lot of danger this week. AGGIES 26, AUBURN 20 FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE Yet another example of how the wrong coach and the wrong quarterback can derail a once-proud program. Rocky Top is merely a shell of its former self, while Florida is on the upswing behind Dan Mullen and quarterback Kyle Trask. This one won’t be pretty. FLORIDA 42, TENNESSEE 20 BYU AT COASTAL The Chants replaced a good Liberty team with a really good Cougar team. BYU has full grown men with wives and kids and part time jobs at the factory on their offensive and defensive lines, and they’ve run roughshod over everyone they’ve played. They also have a pretty good quarterback, and will present a big-time challenge for the Chants. However, Jamey Chadwell’s offense is a thing of beauty, running triple-option concepts out of the shotgun with multiple wide receivers. This one will be fun to watch, a lot more fun than seeing two junior varsity teams like Kentucky and South Carolina throw their mittens at each other. BYU 31, COASTAL 23 SOUTH CAROLINA AT KENTUCKY Talk about a pillow fight. Neither team has a lot to play for, and neither team does that whole “scoring points” thing very well. In fact, South Carolina is 93rd nationally in points scored and Kentucky is 114th. South Carolina is 100th in total offense, and Kentucky is 121st. South Carolina is 97 in passing offense, and get this, Kentucky is 125th, just behind Navy and ahead of true option teams in Georgia Southern, Air Force, and Army. Someone please shoot these programs and get them out of our misery. Sister Sadie Dinkins Widows Sunday School Class down at the First Baptist Church has a better offense than these teams. But someone has to win. Right? Kentucky gets two field goals and safety, and South Carolina gets two safeties. KENTUCKY 8, SOUTH CAROLINA 4 CLEMSON AT VIRGINIA TECH The last time these two teams met was in Blacksburg and Clemson sailed to a pretty easy win over what was then a No. 12 Hokie program. It’s been all downhill for Justin Fuente and the Hokies since that game as the program has suffered transfers, opt-outs, injuries and an all-around problem with the culture within the program. Let’s face it, an empty Lane Stadium isn’t gonna scare anyone, and Clemson can just about name its score. The Hokies aren’t completely toothless, however, and can get the run game going with the best of them, so the Tigers will have to watch out for big plays from quarterback Hendon Hooker. But it’s mathematical, after all. CLEMSON 45, VIRGINIA TECH 20
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