It's Coastal Carolina week at LU, but unlike last year, Flames coach Danny Rocco didn't show up with red "Beat Coastal" t-shirts in tow. Still, he made an excellent point. For all the inroads the Flames have made nationally by beating Youngstown State, it really all goes for naught if Liberty doesn't win the Big South Conference championship.
Liberty is the favorite, but Coastal Carolina was voted second in the league in the preseason, and for good reason. Until LU won the title last year, Coastal had won or shared the previous three Big South championships. I'm sure everyone in Conway has had this game circled for some time on their calendars. Both of these teams only play two Big South road games (Presbyterian doesn't count in the league standings), so I imagine the winner of this game will be the odds-on favorite to win the conference title.
Some notes from today, and what to expect in the News & Advance tomorrow:
* Defensive back Tim Torrence, who laid a nasty hit on Youngstown State's Dominique Barnes Saturday, is still dealing with a concussion and won't practice until later in the week.
* Linebacker Kyle O'Donnell is still out. Wideout Matt Lambros returned and played on special teams Saturday, but he has been supplanted by Mike Brown on the WR depth chart.
* Both TE Tommy Shaver and OL Britt Stone may play Saturday at Coastal, but both will be game-time decisions.
* Coastal is missing several key players, and the Chanticleers lost DB Marrio Norman for the season to a foot injury Saturday at North Carolina A&T. CCU had already lost top tackler Dominique Davenport to a dislocated elbow. On today's Big South coaches teleconference, CCU coach David Bennett said he won't have answers on other injured players, like QB Zach MacDowall, WR Trent Usher and RB Eric O'Neal, until later in the week.
* This weekend is LU's fall break, and Rocco said he expected a sizable contingent of students to make the trip to Conway.
* Look for two stories tomorrow in the paper -- a notebook and a feature on linebacker Nick Hursky. Thursday, look for a story on Coastal's night mystique at Brooks Stadium.
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