2020 BYU vs. Coastal Carolina football game
The game was scheduled at short notice after Liberty, Coastal Carolina's original opponent, had to withdraw due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The game was scoreless until the last ten seconds of the first quarter, when Coastal's C. J. Marable scored a six-yard touchdown rush at the conclusion of a 17-play drive that spanned 94 yards and over nine minutes.
On the game's last play, BYU wide receiver Dax Milne came up one yard short of the goal line, securing a 22–17 win for Coastal Carolina.
[3] BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe told ESPN journalist Heather Dinich that he had not heard about Liberty's predicament until the Wednesday before the game; by the end of that day, he had sent the Cougars' football equipment truck to Conway before even confirming that the two teams would play.
"[4] The game was not officially confirmed until the following day, with ESPN playing a key role in the process, and even then the two schools had yet to enter into any kind of written agreement.
[5] Neither BYU nor Coastal Carolina were in the picture for the College Football Playoff National Championship, despite their undefeated seasons, but a strong showing could earn them a spot in a New Year's Six bowl game.
Host Lee Corso praised both teams, but picked BYU to win:[7] Coastal is 9–0 and 18th in the playoff ranking...And they're playing at home – that's really good stuff.
[9] The BYU Cougars, representing Brigham Young University, entered the season led by fifth-year head coach Kalani Sitake.
[16] A win against Western Kentucky put the Cougars at a 7–0 record going into the month of November, with a ranking in the AP top ten.
[26] Coastal Carolina entered the top fifteen after a 51-point shutout win at Georgia State on October 31, in time for their homecoming matchup against South Alabama.
[29] The following week, Coastal defeated Texas State to clinch the Sun Belt East Division title and a spot in the conference championship game.
[31] Scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. EST start, the game began at 5:37 p.m.[32] as Jake Oldroyd's opening kickoff resulted in a touchback.
Tyler Allgeier would gain another three plays later, but an incomplete pass and a five-yard rush set them back at third down.
Biscardi's kickoff was returned by Caleb Christensen to the BYU 24-yard-line, and the Cougars ran one play, a 12-yard rush by Wilson, before the end of the first quarter.
[33] BYU began the second quarter with a 16-yard pass from Wilson to Neil Pau'u, gaining a first down, and they got on the scoreboard two plays later, as Allgeier rushed for a 42-yard touchdown on 2nd & 4.
The Cougars took possession as a result, and ran three rushing plays for a total of nine yards, leaving them with a 4th & 1 at the Coastal Carolina 49-yard-line.
The next play, Wilson passed for 41 yards to Milne for a touchdown, regaining the lead for BYU following Oldroyd's extra point.
Coastal Carolina got the ball back after a touchback, and their drive that followed was the game's first three-and-out after a holding penalty on second down.
Getting the ball back with just over thirty seconds left in the half, the drive ended with a Hail Mary being intercepted by Derick Bush at the 1-yard-line and returned to the Coastal 43-yard-line.
BYU gave the ball back quickly; a fumble by Allgeier was forced by Jeffrey Gunter and recovered by Coastal's Silas Kelly on the first play of the Cougars' drive.
The Chanticleers were unable to move the ball, gaining seven yards on the next three plays and narrowing BYU's lead to one point on a 41-yard field goal by Massimo Biscardi.
The Chanticleers gained two first downs on their next three plays, and Marable ran twice for nine yards combined afterward to reach the BYU 42-yard-line before the end of the game's third quarter.
A pair of 2-yard rushes and a Coastal timeout with just over one minute left on the clock, followed by a punt, gave BYU the ball at their own 18-yard-line with a chance for a game-winning drive.
Another 13-yard pass to Milne with seven seconds remaining moved the ball to the Coastal Carolina 18-yard-line with time for one final play.
The game had an average viewership of 1.212 million viewers, making it the most-watched college football broadcast on ESPNU since a matchup between LSU and Western Kentucky in 2015.
[38] The viewership peaked at 2.115 million viewers at 8:50 p.m., near the end of the game,[38] and it was ESPNU's fifth most-watched college football broadcast overall.
[38] A highlight clip from the game was the most-viewed clip from any Week 14 game on any ESPN digital platform, receiving 1.4 million views,[38] and the full-game highlight video posted to the ESPN College Football channel on YouTube has over 100,000 views as of 2022[update].
[42] BYU won the bowl game convincingly,[43] ending their season with a record of 11–1 and a final AP and Coaches' Poll ranking of No.
[47] As a result of their divisional title, which they clinched following their win against Texas State on November 28,[30] Coastal Carolina earned a bid to the Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game, which would have been played against West Division champions Louisiana.
[50] A blocked field goal in overtime gave Liberty a three-point victory and Coastal Carolina finished the season with a record of 11–1 as a result.
