By Bert Leeson
Live Broadcast (ESPN) | Live Stats | Game Notes (PDF) | Live Audio Social Media – @GoCCUSports | @CoastalFootball
HONOLULU, Hawai’i. – Coastal Carolina plays in its fourth consecutive bowl game this Saturday as the Chanticleers take on San Jose State at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET. John Schriffen, Orlando Franklin, and Marilyn Payne will have the call on ESPN, while Kevin Winter and Trevor Matich will broadcast the game on ESPN Radio. CCU fans can hear the Chanticleer Sports Radio Network broadcast with Joe Cashion, Layne Harris, Chris Burgin, and Joe Catenacci on WRNN 99.5 FM and online at wrnn.net.
GOING BOWLING
• Coastal Carolina is looking to win its second bowl game as an FBS program.
• The Chants are the first FBS team from the Palmetto State to play a game in Hawai’i since 1981.
• Coastal is searching for its sixth postseason win in program history.
POSTSEASON ACCOLADES
• Seven different Chanticleers earned All-Sun Belt Conference honors following the regular season.
• Wide receiver Sam Pinckney earned second team honors, while offensive lineman Will McDonald and safety Clayton Isbell received third team accolades.
• Offensive lineman Nick Del Grande, wide receiver Jared Brown, defensive lineman Micheal Mason, and defensive back Matthew McDoom were honorable mention selections.
A STANDARD OF WINNING
• With their 7-5 record this season, the Chants are 38-12 overall since the start of the 2020 season.
• The 38-12 record since the start of the 2020 season is tied for the eighth-most wins in all of FBS football, behind only Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Liberty, Notre Dame, and Clemson.
PINCKNEY’S PLACE IN HISTORY
• Wide receiver Sam Pinckney holds the NCAA’s all-time record for consecutive games with a catch, hauling in a reception in 57 consecutive games.
• He currently ranks sixth on CCU’s career receiving yards and career receptions lists.
TOUCHBACK TIME
• Kicker Liam Gray has set Coastal Carolina’s single-season touchback record with 43, breaking the previous record of 28 set by Josh Hoke in 2005.
• Gray has 61 touchbacks in his career, one shy of tying Hoke’s program record of 62.
INTERCEPTION THREAT
• Coastal Carolina’s defense has 14 interceptions this season, tied for the ninth most in program history.
• CCU’s 14 interceptions are the most by a Chanticleer defense since the 2020 season, when Coastal picked off 16 passes.
• Nine different Chanticleers have recorded an interception this season, the most since 2016.
POCKET PROTECTION
• The Chanticleers have allowed just 16 sacks this season, the second-fewest in the Sun Belt Conference
• Only 25 teams in the nation have surrendered fewer sacks than the Chanticleers in 2023.
• Coastal’s offensive line has protected four different quarterbacks this season.
UNFRIENDLY SKIES
• Coastal Carolina’s pass defense has allowed opponents to complete a league-low 57.3 percent of their passes this season.
• CCU has allowed just 2,538 yards through the air this season, the second-lowest total in the Sun Belt.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS OF SAN JOSE STATE
• San Jose State is 7-5 this season and is coming off a 37-31 win at UNLV.
• This season marks the first time in SJSU history that the Spartans have become bowl eligible after starting a season 1-5.
• SJSU enters the Hawai’i Bowl on a six-game winning streak, the longest for the Spartans since winning seven consecutive games to begin the 2020 campaign.
• San Jose State is bowling for the third time in four seasons, a first in program history.
• Head coach Brent Brennan is the first head coach in Spartan history to lead San Jose State to three bowl games.
• The Spartans have outscored their opponents 232-107 during their six-game winning streak, including a 125-46 advantage in the second half.
• SJSU has lost only eight turnovers this season, good for seventh in the nation and best in the Mountain West.
• San Jose State enters the game with a +13 turnover margin, which ranks third nationally and first in the conference.
SERIES SNAPSHOT WITH SAN JOSE STATE
• Saturday marks the first meeting ever between the Chanticleers and Spartans.
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