Coastal Carolina's turnover is even more dramatic. Beard's first roster includes 56 newcomers, just 5 returning starters, and a defense that flipped from a 3-3-5 to a 4-2-5 under new coordinator LD Scott. The Chanticleers currently sit outside the top 120 nationally in early power ratings, which tells you this is a program in full rebuild mode rather than a team chasing a bowl bid on name recognition.
There's some offensive juice worth watching in Conway. Dominic Knicely and Jevon Edwards both averaged better than 5.5 yards a carry a season ago, and the addition of bruiser Daelen Alexander from Rice gives the backfield another gear. Add in Tristian Gardner, who posted 15.5 yards per catch with 6 touchdowns as a true freshman at Missouri State before transferring in, and the Chanticleers have more skill talent than their overall roster grade suggests.
App State's calling card is on the other side of the ball, where the portal haul targeted secondary help specifically. If that defensive back class gels faster than Coastal's overhauled front, it could be the difference in a game where both teams are still figuring out who they are on a weekly basis heading into the Friday, October 16 date.
Neither side has much margin for slow starts this season, which makes a midseason Sun Belt trip like this one worth more than its name value suggests. Whoever looks more organized on defense by mid-October will have the edge, and right now that's still an open question for both rosters.