New Year’s Six Watch: Chanticleers defeat Cougars, Herd upended

There were major shakeups in the Group of Five that have possible New Year’s Six Bowl ramifications.

As the college football regular season begins to reach its conclusion, this weekend was huge in the Group of Five. Two games had both New Year’s Six and possible National Semifinal implications. With their “anyone, anytime, anyplace” mentality, the BYU Cougars and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers used some ingenuity and flexibility to make a game happen this weekend.

Both teams had lots at stake in this game. Coastal Carolina could use a resume builder to add to the argument that it belongs in a New Year’s Six Bowl. Since BYU does not have any conference affiliations, the Cougars were looking to beat their second ranked opponent of the season in hopes to receive an at-large bid to a New Year’s Day game.

In a finish reminiscent of the Rams/Titans Super Bowl, BYU wide receiver Dax Milne was stopped on the one-yard line to preserve a 22-17 victory for the Chanticleers. For BYU, their New Year’s Six hopes could be dashed. Coastal keeps hope alive.

Marshall’s 20-0 upset loss to Rice was the shocker of the season if you go by the oddsmakers. The Owls were 24.5 point underdogs to the Thundering Herd. As shocking as the odds were, Marshall’s poor play was equally as shocking. Freshman quarterback Grant Wells threw five interceptions, and running back Brendan Knox held to just 76 yards.

Here is a look at this week’s New Year’s Six Watch