On Tuesday afternoon in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will play in its sixth consecutive bowl game and this time in one of the most historic and long-running still in existence.
The Chants (6-6) will square off with future Sun Belt member Louisiana Tech (7-5) in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, played every season (except 2020) with varying sponsors since 1976. This is Coastal’s first time in this bowl game while the Bulldogs, from nearby Ruston, will be making their 7th appearance.
In our Sunday Strut 48 podcast, we broke down the game with Ben Carlisle from Bleed Tech Blue, who gave listeners great insight into the Bulldogs’ season, what to look for from Louisiana Tech as well as what their roster looks like going into this game.
I won’t rehash much of what we discussed but I do find this matchup fascinating, and I think even with the Chanticleers in transition, similar, but not so similar, to the run-up to the 2022 Birmingham Bowl, Coastal has a good chance to pick up the program’s third bowl victory.
This year is like the 2022 situation in that Coastal is between head coaches and many of those coaching the Chants in this game will not be in Conway come January 1. Interim HC Jeremiah Johnson will be headed to Kansas State as some other 2025 assistants have already found homes elsewhere. Those still remaining will too.
New Coastal head coach Ryan Beard is quickly building his staff, with names already being unofficially “announced,” while it has also been reported that Grayson McCall, Trey Carter and CJ Scrimpf, all former players and currently on staff in some capacity, will be staying. I think that is great news.
However, this transition period feels different to me in that, after a dreadful last two seasons on the gridiron, there is nowhere to go but up for Coastal Football. Beard has seemingly energized a demoralized fanbase with his enthusiasm, energy and vision for the program.
I agree with TD that this game is a dress rehearsal of sorts for many players who stuck around and who apparently plan on staying in Conway for the new beginning. It’s pretty remarkable the Chants don’t have many in the portal right now (that we know of) and hopefully there is a hunger and desire to go out and “show out” to the new staff from those who stayed.
Which brings me to my keys to Coastal winning this football game:
- Hunger. Last year’s Myrtle Beach Bowl was an exercise in futility. Many Chants were in the portal, while the ones who played didn’t seem terribly interested and the whole thing was just a mess. For this game, with an intact roster and hopefully motivated by the recent changes, does Coastal come to play?
- Offensive effectiveness. Can the Chants move the ball on the ground and in the air against a defense that will give up some yards but is one of the best in red zone stoppages? Coastal is 6-1 when going for more than 180 yards rushing this season.
Also, what does this offense look like with Tim Beck, Derek Warehime and Kriss Proctor all gone now and OC Drew Hollingshead ostensibly running it with the remaining offensive staff? I’ve been convinced all season that there was a struggle behind the scenes regarding philosophy, playcalling, personnel decisions, etc.
Aside from the short-lived Samari Collier era (which hopefully isn’t truly over), the offense looked dysfunctional and out of sync in 2025. Does the offensive dynamic change for this game and help who we assume will be the starting QB, Tad Hudson?
- Stopping the run. The bottom line is this – if Coastal cannot slow down Louisiana Tech’s running game, and they are definitely going to line up and run the football, the Chants will not win this game. Going in, the numbers are grim for CCU. Coastal’s rush defense ranks 129th in FBS (210 yards allowed per game) while the Bulldogs boast the nation’s 23rd best running attack (197 per).
Tech rushed for 388 yards against Missouri State in their season finale. Ouch. So against a familiar foe and familiar faces, can Johnson conjure up some defensive magic and limit their production on the ground? Make them have to throw it more than they want? Get some timely stops?
We shall see. Obviously turnovers and penalties will be factors as well but if Coastal can do those things listed reasonably well, they’ll have a great chance to win. If nothing else, I want to see this team compete for four quarters. Compete. Play hard and play together, like wearing the Teal means something. Hopefully something that Coastal Football will get back to doing, beginning with this football game. Outhit and outhustle somebody out there.
Finally, the weather should be pretty good for December football, sunny with highs near 50 degrees. We will not have a Wednesday pod with it being NYE, but I will have a game summary blog posted sometime that day.
Thank you listeners and sponsors for a great 2025 and we look forward to bigger and better things in 2026!
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND CHANTS UP!
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