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PROVO — Any team. Any time. Any place.
At least, anyone in the Top 25, it seems.
No. 8 BYU and No. 18 Coastal Carolina have "explored the possibilities" of playing this weekend if the Chanticleers' previously scheduled game with No. 25 Liberty is canceled, as first reported by Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.
The Cougars' game against the undefeated Chanticleers (9-0) would be the 10th game of the season, a remarkable feat after the coronavirus pandemic scuttled all but two games off BYU's original regular-season slate. The game, however, is contingent on Coastal Carolina's currently scheduled game being canceled against No. 25 Liberty, another FBS independent with a 9-1 record. The Flames' lone loss of the season came to North Carolina State, which blocked a late field goal to preserve the upset victory after Liberty had previously beaten fellow ACC foes Syracuse and Virginia Tech.
BYU has not had a game in two weeks, but the Cougars have been practicing all week, a source told KSL.com. As of Wednesday afternoon, no game had been formally added.
"Contrary to what is being 'reported,' our game on Saturday, Dec. 5, versus Liberty football will kickoff at 2 p.m. ET at Brooks Stadium," Coastal Carolina said on Twitter.
The Top 25 matchup in December led ESPN's College GameDay to announce plans to host its weekly pregame Saturday show from Conway, South Carolina. But the Flames began having "some COVID concerns," according to one report Wednesday afternoon and began discussing that with Coastal Carolina.
Liberty is currently waiting for another round of test results to determine if the Flames will be able to play the game, according to The Athletic's Chris Vannini. That determination will be made Thursday morning, Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports and The Athletic said.
Coastal Carolina, though, doesn't want to lose the GameDay spotlight, according to Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel. So, playing BYU in that spot — if Liberty is forced to cancel — remains a "possibility."
BYU improved to 9-0 after a 66-14 rout of FCS-level North Alabama and earned the No. 8 ranking in the nation by the Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches Poll. But an offense and defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally were not enough to impress the panel of the College Football Playoff selection committee, which ranks teams for the end-of-season bowl slate, in addition to the four-team playoff.
The Cougars moved up one spot to No. 13 in the CFP's second of five rankings Tuesday night. The Cougars are scheduled to host San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 12, and could have an open date Dec. 19 — a common open date with Liberty.
Coastal Carolina, which beat the Big 12's Kansas 38-23 in the season opener, plays at Troy on Dec. 12, followed by the Sun Belt championship game Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. MST against No. 20 Louisiana.
