ELON, N.C. -- The ninth-ranked Elon Phoenix football squad will embark on its first-ever NCAA Division I Football Championship experience by visiting the fourth-rated Richmond Spiders in a 1 p.m. contest from Richmond Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

 

Fans who are unable to make it out on Saturday will be able to follow all the action live on 920 AM WPCM or online at elonphoenix.com for free.  The NCAA will also offer a video web stream of the event.  That can be accessed by clicking: HERE. 

 

Elon will be making its first playoff appearance on the gridiron since 1981's NAIA national title.  Richmond is the defending FCS national title holder. 

 

Saturday's contest will be just the third in the series between the Phoenix and Spiders with Richmond holding a 2-0 advantage in the series.  The last meeting came on August 30, 2008 at Elon's Rhodes Stadium. 

 

The Phoenix sits at No. 9 in both The Sports Network top-25 the FCS Coaches top-25 polls this week, moving up one place in both polls from a week ago.

 

A win on Saturday would give Elon its first 10-win season since 1981.

 

During the regular season, Elon out-gained its opponents in total yardage by a 4,763-2,580 mark.  The Phoenix has averaged 433.0 yards of total offense per game while allowing just 234.5 yards of total offense each outing.  Elon rates eighth in the nation in total offense and is second in the country in total defense.

 

Elon is the only team in the 16-team FCS playoff field that sports both an offense and defense ranked in the top-10 nationally.  William & Mary boasts the second-highest rated defense in the field (3rd) while Appalachian State's second-raned offense is the best in the field. 

Elon will look to continue a trend of being successful on first down.  The Phoenix has converted 77 of its 365 first down plays into either a touchdown or another first down (21.1 percent).  Of those first down plays, Elon has gained five or more yards 160 times (43.8 percent). 

Elon head coach Pete Lembo is in his ninth season as a collegiate head coach and his fourth with the Phoenix.  Lembo sports a 73-30 overall record including a 29-16 mark at Elon.

 

The Elon defense notched 11 interceptions in the regular season, including three in the win over Georgia Southern.  Last year, the Phoenix defense picked off 10 passes.  Senior defensive back Cameron McGlenn has three picks, one each in Elon's first three games.  He had just two career INTs entering the year.  Senior defensive back Karlos Sullivan has four picks this year, tied for the most ever by an Elon player at the Division I level, and is one shy of the program's FCS record of 11 career interceptions.

 

Elon senior wide out Terrell Hudgins and junior quarterback Scott Riddle will look to continue their assault on record books this season.  

Hudgins set a new NCAA Division I record with his 331st career reception during a victory over Furman.  In the win at Western Carolina, Hudgins caught eight balls for 153 yards to become the FCS career leader in receiving yards (5,083), surpassing Rice.  At Samford, Hudgins tallied 144 receiving yards to set the NCAA Division I record with 27 career 100-yard games.  He also became the FCS career leader in games with a TD catch as his grab at Samford gave him 33 games with a TD reception.  He is just one 200+ yard receiving game shy of setting SoCon mark with four career 200+ yard receiving contests. 

 

Meanwhile, Riddle needs just one game of passing for 200 or more yards to set the SoCon record for that category.  He is now the league's all-time leader in career completions (883) and TD passes (77).  Riddle has thrown for 9,724 yards and currently holds the SoCon record in that category.  Close behind is Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards who has thrown for 9,605 yards.  Riddle also set a new record for most passing attempts without an interception at 218 before he was picked off in the fourth quarter against Georgia Southern.