The last time the Flames & Chants met on the field it was ugly.  Really ugly.  LU putting a 58-point shellacking on CCU in front of a boisterous crowd at Williams Stadium.  The game sent a strong message to Conway that the Flames were not only the top dog in the conference but the Chants had fallen way off the pace.

Courtesy: CCU Athletics

As you might suspect, this hasn’t sat well with the colorful yet intense coach of the Chants, David Bennett.  His reaction this spring bordered on the bizarre.  Instead of trying to get a tighter grip on his players and staff, instead he backed away to a certain degree having each of his assistant coaches take on the role of head coach for a practice.  Seriously.  But tough times often lead men to innovation.  The jury is still out whether it was a wise decision or not.  Last season, the Chants won all five of their home games.  Big cheers in Conway!  Unfortunately they dropped all six games on the road.  In 2010, they have the same split between home & road games but two of their trips stand out as very tough matchups:  9/7 @ West Virginia & 10/2 @ Richmond.  Obviously FlameFans can attest to how difficult it is to play a season opener at Morgantown.  And the trip to 2008 National Champion Richmond will be played in their brand new Robins Stadium on UR’s campus.  So there will certainly be a buzz around the Spiders.

Courtesy: The Patriot-News

The CCU quarterback situation has plenty of drama.  Wake Forest transfer Zach MacDowell is back fro his senior season after throwing for 1664 yards with 9 TDs & 11 INTs in ’09.  CCU fans have been begging to see more of junior Jamie Childers since arrived as a ballyhooed signing out of Hargrave Military Academy.  Childers didn’t look impressive in limited action last season despite three starts.  This summer the Chants added troubled transfer Aramis Hillary from South Carolina.  After getting the boot from Steve Spurrier following drinking-related charges in March, he brings a ton of athletic ability to Conway with some obvious concerns attached.  The top returning rusher is senior Eric O’Neal.  He posted 377 yards and a pair of TDs in primarily a backup role in 2009.   Outside, senior receiver Brandon Whitley remains a threat after hauling 30 passes for 469 yards and 4 TDs in 2009.  It should also be noted that offensive lineman Kenneth Page transferred in from Clemson after getting the boot by Dabo Swinney and he could have an immediate impact.

Courtesy: Coastal Carolina

Defensively, junior cornerback Josh Norman is the name that jumps off the page.  In ’09, he picked off 8 passes and began attracting the attention of NFL scouts.  Junior linebacker Desmond Steward is back after leading the Chants with 60 tackles a year ago.  In fact, 9 of CCU’s top 10 tacklers are back for more in 2010.

The combination of a strong returning cast and the fact that LU-CCU matchups at Brooks Stadium have traditionally gone down to the wire leads me to expect more of the same in 2010.   There is a sense of win at all costs coming from Conway based on some of their recent transfers and the fact that the school has invested heavily in the program the past few years and expects some ROI.  I fully expect the Chants to be in the hunt for the Big South title when the two teams meet on November 13th.