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One of the most anticipated regular season home games in Coastal Carolina football history has arrived.

For the second time in program history, the Chanticleers are hosting a team in a Power Four Conference when they face Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Virginia at 2 p.m. Saturday at Brooks Stadium.

The game has been sold out for a couple weeks.

鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome. I think our fan base, the Conwave (student section), they鈥檙e super excited,鈥� CCU head coach Tim Beck said. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 talking about it. It鈥檚 going to be a great environment, probably one they haven鈥檛 had for a long time...Tickets are hard to come by, I can tell you that. Everybody鈥檚 trying to get here. So it should be an electrifying event.鈥�

Coastal is 3-0 entering its final non-conference game, while Virginia is 2-1 with wins over Richmond and Wake Forest and a loss to Maryland last week, when it was outscored 20-0 in the second half after holding a 13-7 lead.

CCU鈥檚 only other home game against a power conference team was a 49-22 win over then-downtrodden Kansas of the Big 12 in 2021.

CCU and Virginia are meeting for the first time. They were scheduled to play on Nov. 19, 2022 in Charlottesville but the contest was canceled due to a tragic shooting on Virginia鈥檚 campus that claimed the lives of team members Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D鈥橲ean Perry six days before the game.

They are scheduled to meet again next year, Aug. 30, 2025, in Charlottesville.

Scouting the Cavaliers

Sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea has 901 passing yards, which ranks 12th in FBS, while completing 71 of 103 passes (69%) with five touchdowns. He has thrown four interceptions, however, including two in last week鈥檚 loss to Maryland.

Colandrea is a dual threat QB with 89 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 32 carries, while running backs Kobe Pace (5-10, 215) and Xavier Brown (5-9, 195) have more than 120 yards rushing and average more than 5 yards per rush.

Colandrea (6-0, 185) has the respect and support of his teammates, as he was voted the team鈥檚 offensive MVP as a true freshman last year.

He completed a career-high 33 of 43 passes for 357 yards and matched a career-best with three touchdown passes in a comeback win against Wake Forest two weeks ago, and accounted for 346 yards of total offense against Richmond.

鈥淎s a fan he鈥檚 fun to watch, as an opposing coach he鈥檚 not,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 got a better grasp of their offensive system [this season], what they want to do. I think they鈥檙e building it around him. He鈥檚 a dynamic player with the ball in his hands. I love the way he plays quarterback. He鈥檚 a good one. He definitely is the catalyst for their offense.鈥�

Senior receiver Malachi Fields (6-4, 220) is a big target and has been Colandrea鈥檚 favorite, as he already has 20 catches for 284 yards. Trell Harris (6-0, 200) and tight end Tyler Neville (6-4, 250) each have two touchdown receptions.

鈥淭heir skill is very good. So it鈥檚 going to be quite a challenge for us,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to do a great job tackling in space, we鈥檙e going to have to do a great job in our coverage, we鈥檙e going to have to make them earn the things that they get.鈥�

The Cavaliers have a large and experienced offensive line, but injuries have forced them to move players in and out of the lineup and move players along the line.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e constantly trying to find the best five to start out there,鈥� third-year Virginia head coach Tony Elliott said. 鈥淵ou just don鈥檛 have the depth right now, but they鈥檝e given us a chance in every game. But in fairness to them it鈥檚 been a chess match trying to figure out the moving parts, and then as soon as you kind of get settled in, bang, one gets banged up and goes down.鈥�

The Virginia defense has allowed 397 yards per game, which ranks 100th in the country, and 23.3 points, which ranks 81st, and has forced just two turnovers with a pair of fumble recoveries.

CCU鈥檚 defense, meanwhile, has been more opportunistic with six turnovers consisting of three interceptions and three fumble recoveries, and has scored a touchdown in three straight games for the first time in program history.

Coastal is in the top 20 in the country in turnover margin with six forced and two surrendered听鈥� both in the opening game. Virginia is tied for 124th in the country at minus-5.

鈥淲e鈥檙e actually at the bottom and we talked about that. So there鈥檚 a lot that we talked about over the first couple days of preparation just to know the opportunities that we have to get better,鈥� said Elliott, who spent eight years as an offensive coordinator under Dabo Swinney at Clemson through 2021. 鈥淭hey do a great job offensively of taking care of the ball. That鈥檚 where we have to get better. We have to create more turnovers and we have to do a better job of taking care of the football.鈥�

Virginia is 4-6 in its last 10 road games against teams from non-Power Five and non-Power Four conferences over the past several years, though that includes games against BYU in 2021, Notre Dame in 2019 and Boise State in 2017.

鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a group that鈥檚 confident. They鈥檙e used to winning,鈥� Elliott said of CCU. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been to four straight bowl games, and in particular our performance in the last 10 road games versus non-Power Five鈥檚 hasn鈥檛 been good. So it鈥檚 more focusing on us but having a healthy respect and understanding of who our opponent is.鈥�

Virginia is playing a Sun Belt Conference team for the third-straight season. The Cavaliers are 5-4 all-time against current Sun Belt members, including a one-point loss to James Madison last year and games against JMU, Old Dominion, Troy and Southern Miss dating back to 1979.

鈥淭he message was that this football team would get ready to play, and believes they have a path to the playoff, which they do,鈥� Elliott said of Coastal. 鈥淚f they win every game on their schedule and beat a Power Four at home, then they鈥檙e going to have a chance to get into the playoff.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a prideful bunch down there that鈥檚 playing for a lot and we need to make sure we don鈥檛 focus too much on them, but we also don鈥檛 buy the lie, and the lie is that 鈥極h well, it鈥檚 a Group of Five and you should be able to just show up and win.鈥� You鈥檙e seeing it all over the country with non-Power Four teams beating Power Four teams, and you鈥檒l see more of it. When you look at their roster, they have a lot of Power Four transfers that want an opportunity and are down there playing.鈥�

Coastal Carolina notes

CCU has been losing some key players due to injuries over the past couple weeks.

Defensive lineman Will Whitson, who was one of the team鈥檚 most impactful players on defense in the first two weeks, is expected to miss his second straight game due to injury.

At running back, both Braydon Bennett and Ja鈥橵in Simpkins are expected to miss their second straight game, and Beck could not give a return date for either player. They are big-play threats who each had nearly 100 yards rushing before being injured early in the second game of the season against William & Mary.

鈥淚 feel like we鈥檝e got a good chance of getting them back [this season], but I don鈥檛 know yet 100 percent,鈥� Beck said.

The New Mexico redshirt sophomore transfer Christian Washington has emerged as a leader in the backfield with 206 yards and four touchdowns on 44 carries.

鈥淲e knew he鈥檇 be a productive player. We have a lot of belief in him, and he鈥檚 provided stability. He鈥檚 very consistent in what he does,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淗e may not be the most flashy guy but he鈥檚 very consistent, he鈥檚 tough, he can catch, he can block. So he brings all three elements to the game, so you don鈥檛 really have to sub him out or do anything. So we鈥檙e very, very fortunate and pleased to have him.鈥�

Mississippi State junior transfer Simeon Price overcame an injury to play his first game last week and gained 29 yards on eight carries in a 28-20 win over Temple, so the Chants still have some depth at running back.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ethan Vasko has completed 35 of 63 passes (55.6%) for 512 yards and three touchdowns with one interception on the season. Last week he completed 15 of 21 passes for a touchdown and a 71.4 completion percentage but just 103 yards, and led the team with both 16 carries and 92 yards rushing.

鈥淚 thought Ethan played a very smart football game,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淗e threw the ball down the field when he had them, and when he didn鈥檛 have them he made really good decisions with the football and by running he created first downs. That puts a lot of stress on the defense...Patience is important. Winning the football game is important. They鈥檙e not always going to be pretty.鈥�

Vasko will remain a part of the running game, Beck said, as that is a big part of what makes him effective. He has rushed the ball 34 times for 190 yards for a 5.6 yards-per-carry average with a touchdown this season.

鈥淲e have been running the ball pretty well and Ethan is a part of that, and he鈥檒l continue to be a part of that,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just who he is and he鈥檚 good at it. Obviously coach [Travis] Trickett and the offensive staff always take that into consideration. We don鈥檛 want to be careless in terms of when and how we want to run him, but at the end of the day that鈥檚 a weapon he has in his ability, so we鈥檙e going to continue to flourish with that.鈥�

Senior receiver Jameson Tucker leads the team with seven receptions for 110 yards, and speedy slot receiver Tray Taylor has six receptions for a team-high 132 yards receiving.

Despite being 3-0, CCU has outscored its opponents by just three points in the second half and has been outscored in the second half in each of the past two games.

鈥淲e just need to come out like we do in the first quarter and second quarter, where we just go drive it down the field in the first five drives,鈥� said senior tight end Kendall Karr, who has just two catches for 16 yards this season but has been heavily involved in run blocking. 鈥淭he second half is like we kind of let up a little bit, but we鈥檝e really been harping on finishing more and I think we鈥檙e going to get to it this week, especially with Virginia coming in...We really need to finish.鈥�

The Chants had a 30-point lead against William & Mary and won by 19 two weeks ago, and last week had a 21-point lead and won by 8 against Temple.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how many times we鈥檝e got to do that to learn a lesson,鈥� Beck said. 鈥淚 keep trying to preach that lesson and it鈥檚 not getting heard.鈥�

The Chants say they aren鈥檛 allowing their 3-0 start to breed overconfidence. They are an underdog for the second time this season at +3.5 points after getting 3 points at Jacksonville State in the opener.

鈥淸Our confidence] is pretty high. We just remind ourselves daily not to take the rat poison, as coach [Nick] Saban said before,鈥� graduate Wake Forest transfer safety AJ Williams said. 鈥淟istening to the outside world can affect the inside world, what you have going on. So we just have to continue to stay together and listen to each other rather than listen to everyone outside those doors.鈥�