Group of Five New Year’s 6 watch, Week 3: Louisiana facing meteoric rise

5. Can Coastal Carolina win the Sun Belt?

This spot on the list could simply be a lifetime achievement award for the Chanticleers, or we here at the watch have a thing for magic. After all, a Chanticleer is a mystical rooster. In the bird fight of the week, the Chanticleers defeated the Jayhawks in Lawrence.

So far, in this series, Coastal has won twice on the road. Kansas might need to cast some spells before playing Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers get one more non-conference game against FCS Campbell. Then it’s their Sun Belt schedule.

Coastal Carolina might not be good enough to win the Sun Belt, but the teams at the top better be careful. They are good enough to ruin it for either Louisiana and Appalachian State, both of whom they play this season. The Chanticleers want to pound the ball on the ground. They registered 42 carries against Kansas.

They have an ornery pass rush. The Chanticleers had five sacks against Kansas. Coastal is formidable in the trenches on both sides of the ball. So, can the Chanticleers win the Sun Belt? The short answer is no. However, in a season where there is no home-field advantage because of lack of fans and players could miss games because of COVID-19, don’t count a team with mystical poultry as its mascot out just yet.