JAIVON HEILIGH

24 Coastal Carolina rebounded from its first loss of the season, holding on to defeat Troy 35-28 on Thursday night. But Watson fumbled as he was sacked by Josiah Stewart and Jeffrey Gunter recovered as Coastal Carolina won its third straight over the Trojans. Coastal Carolina came out slow, looking like a team that hadn't fully flushed its 30-27 loss at Appalachian State on Oct. 20 that had ended its undefeated start. Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers will need help if they hope to reach the Sun Belt Conference championship game. Coastal Carolina: At Georgia Southern on Nov. 6.

Grayson McCall threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third as No. 24 Coastal Carolina rebounded from its first loss of the season, holding on to top Troy 35-28 on Thursday night.

Reese White ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, Grayson McCall threw for two scores and ran for a third and No. 17 Coastal Carolina beat Kansas for the third straight season, 49-22 on Friday night.

“Do I think it would be a great matchup in college football, particularly in 2020? College football researcher and statistician Cody Kellner calculated 81 scheduled games were never played and 86% of the major college football season will be completed if no games are canceled Saturday. Teams played 52 of 55 potential regular-season games, including 43 of 45 conference games, plus a championship game. Teams played 85 of 90 potential regular-season games, including 70 of 75 conference games, plus a championship game. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Coastal Carolina wide receiver Jaivon Heiligh (6) and teammate Will McDonald (66) celebrate Heiligh's touchdown against Troy during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Troy, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)CONWAY, S.C. – The Sun Belt Conference football championship game Saturday between No. 9 Coastal Carolina and No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette was canceled Thursday night because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Coastal Carolina program. “We will honor both teams as 2020 Sun Belt Conference Co-Champions.”Both schools were in contention for a New Year’s Six bowl spot with a victory in the first Sun Belt title game featuring a matchup of ranked teams. “We are severely disappointed for our student-athletes and staff to not have the opportunity to play in what would have been a truly exciting championship game for the Sun Belt Conference,” ULL AD Bryan Maggard said.

25 San Jose State is this week's upstart. How they persevered through all kinds of challenges.”This San Jose State team showed progress last year, going 5-7 after winning three games total in Brennan's first two seasons. San Jose State had to relocate to practice at first and then to play. CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKENDNine of the 10 FBS conference championship games will feature at least one ranked team and six will match Top-25 teams. 25 San Jose State, Mountain West championship.

Coastal Carolina tight end Isaiah Likely (4) celebrates a touchdown with Coastal Carolina running back CJ Marable (1) against Troy during an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Troy, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)TROY, Ala. – Grayson McCall and Coastal Carolina put together a final drive that was perfection, just like their regular season. 11 Coastal Carolina preserved its first unblemished regular season with a 42-38 win over Troy on Saturday. “We found a way to get it done and that’s what championship teams do,” Coastal coach Jamey Chadwell said. GAME COSTChadwell had griped about the Sun Belt making Coastal playing this game while Louisiana had an open date. He ran for a touchdown and added the two-point conversion with 30 seconds left last season to give Coastal a 36-35 victory.

20 Coastal Carolina cruised to a 51-0 victory over Georgia State on Saturday. “We were not ready to compete," Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott said. Georgia State: The Panthers never found any rhythm after Noel Ruiz missed a field goal on the opening possession. He finished with 11 carries for 56 yards, and Georgia State averaged just 2.8 yards on 24 carries. Georgia State: Host Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.

– Massimo Biscardi made a 40-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to give Coastal Carolina a 30-27 victory over No. “We’ve never been in this position before,” second-year Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell said. Coastal Carolina took a 13-7 lead with 1:03 left in the half when McCall capped an 84-yard march with a 13-yard scoring pass to Marable. The Cajuns drove 77 yards in 54 seconds, with Lewis scoring on a quarterback draw with 5 seconds left. The second half started like the first, with both teams scoring on their first possession.