NEW ORLEANS - Western Division champion No. 17 Louisiana travels to take on Eastern Division champion No. 9 Coastal Carolina for the 2020 Sun Belt Conference football championship this week. This is the first trip to the SBC title game for the Chants and the third straight for the Ragin’ Cajuns. This is only the fourth meeting between both teams with the last one coming back on October 14 when Coastal won, 30-27, to hand Louisiana its only loss of the regular season.
Both these teams had wins against Big 12 opponents earlier in the season (SBC went 3-0 against Big 12 this year). Louisiana defeated No. 23 Iowa State (currently #6) on the road 31-14, while Coastal won at Kansas, 38-23.
Coastal won the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Eastern Division Championship with a 49-14 conference road win over Texas State on November 28. The Chants won the division title only in its fourth year as a full-time member of the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2020 Chants have matched the program’s best start to a season at 11-0, which was only done back in 2014. The team’s undefeated run through the regular-season slate is tied for the best regular-season in conference history.
The Chants this season were picked to finish last in the Eastern Division in the 2020 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Coastal tallied 13 points, the fewest by any SBC member. Louisiana was picked to finish first in the Western Division. The Ragin’ Cajuns tallied 47 points in the poll and seven first-place votes, its point total was the second-most in the conference.
Louisiana, who finished with the second-best overall record in the Sun Belt this year at 9-1, brings the experience back to this year’s championship game in three key offensive weapons. Those three weapons are seniors quarterback Levi Lewis, running back Elija Mitchell, and sophomore wideout Peter LeBlanc.
Levi Lewis will be making his third appearance in the SBC Championship Game with 375 total offense yards, including four passing touchdowns. In 2019, Lewis earned his first postseason start, completing 24-of-46 passes for 354 yards and 4 TDs - the second-most passing yards in Ragin’ Cajun postseason history.
With 6,140 career passing yards, Lewis is 100 yards shy of passing Jerry Babb for third place on Louisiana’s all-time passing list. He is currently second all-time in touchdown passes thrown with 52.
Mitchell looks to shine in the backfield for the third-straight SBC Championship Game. He averaged 17.5 carries and 85 yards per game the previous two years, including a touchdown in 2019. This season overall he is averaging 83.4 yards per game this year, while has tallied 751 total yards and seven touchdowns.
LeBlanc is making his second appearance in the SBC Championship Game after going off in last year’s game when he posted 118 yards on three catches and two touchdowns.
The sophomore this year has appeared in nine games and has tallied 334 yards on 23 catches while averaging 17.5 yards per game this season.
Coastal looks to redshirt freshman quarterback Grayson McCall, senior running back CJ Marable, and junior wideout Jaivon Heiligh.
McCall this season ranks first in the conference in 2,170 passing yards and touchdowns with 23. He has completed 151 of 218 attempts, while only throwing two interceptions.
The redshirt freshman has found his name on multiple award watch lists this season. Including being a national semifinalist for both Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award the Maxwell Award.
Marable this season is averaging 76.7 yards per game and leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with 12. He has tallied 844 yards on 11 carries this year. Earlier this season he rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown against Louisiana back on October 14.
Coastal’s Heiligh has 820 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns on 52 receptions. He ranks third in the conference for yards, and second in touchdowns behind Arkansas State’s Jonathan Adams (12).
Defensively the Chants have four Top 10 pass rushers in the conference, each recording more than four sacks: Tarron Jackson (8.5), Jeffrey Gunter (6.5), C.J. Brewer (6.5), and Silas Kelly (4.5). Jackson (13.5) and Gunter (12.5) are also Top 6 in tackles for loss. Zi’Yon Ayers leads Louisiana with four sacks. Jackson is also a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award.