#9 Elon Phoenix (3-1, 1-0) at #2 James Madison Dukes (4-1, 2-0)

Date | Time	Saturday, Oct. 6 | 1:30 p.m.
Location	Bridgeforth Stadium (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Series Record	James Madison leads 6-0
Tickets	Buy Now
TV Coverage	MASN / SNY & CAA.tv
Video Coverage	Watch Live
Live Stats	Live Stats
Radio Coverage	Phoenix All-Access | TuneIn App
Game Notes	Elon Game Notes | JMU Game Notes | CAA Football Notes
Twitter	@ElonFootball | @ElonPhoenix

 

---

ELON, N.C. – Set for a road trip to open the month of October, Elon University football will travel to James Madison for a 1:30 p.m. contest at Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6. The game highlights FCS action this week with the ninth-ranked Phoenix meeting the second-ranked Dukes to mark the only matchup of two Top 10 teams this weekend.

Fans can watch the game live on MASN, SNY or CAA.tv with Curt Dudley, Ken Dunek and Jack Fitzpatrick on the call. Phoenix fans can also listen to the game exclusively through Phoenix All-Access and on the TuneIn app. Taylor Durham will have the call with Matt Krause providing color analysis. Links to listen live can be found by visiting elonphoenix.com/Live. Pregame coverage of Elon-James Madison is set to start at 12:30 p.m.

SATURDAY'S GAME IS...
-...the 971st in program history.
-...the 220th as a FCS program.
-...the seventh between Elon and James Madison

AN ELON WIN WOULD BE...
-...Elon's 506th in program history.
-...Elon's 94th as a FCS program. 
-...Elon's first all-time over James Madison. 
-...Curt Cignetti's 12th at Elon and 65th as head coach.
-...Elon's fourth-straight victory.

SERIES HISTORY
-Elon and James Madison have met six times before, including each of the last four years as CAA Football opponents. 
-In its first trip to Bridgeforth Stadium as a member of the CAA in 2014, Elon put up 27 points to mark the most its scored against the Dukes in the six contests to date.
-Last season, 11th-ranked Elon hosted No. 1 James Madison on the final day of the regular season with Elon fighting for a share of the CAA Football title. 
-This year, the two teams enter with a combined 3-0 CAA Football record and stand 7-2 combined this season with the only losses to FBS programs. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS
-Elon is No. 9 in this week's AFCA Coaches Poll and checks in at No. 10 in the STATS FCS Poll.
-Seven of the 12 CAA Football teams are ranked in both polls. 
-Entering this weekend's game Elon has now been ranked for 14 consecutive games going back to Sept. 30, 2017, when Elon hosted Albany at Rhodes Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
-Elon engineered an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the day, setting the tone against New Hampshire in a 30-9 home victory.
-In all, Elon amassed a season-high 451 yards of offense while the defense allowed just 218. In the second half alone, Elon only gave up 46 yards and didn't allow a point while intercepting two passes.
-Marcus Willoughby finished with nine tackles - six solo - while spending the day in the UNH backfield with 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. For his efforts, Willoughby was named CAA Football Defensive Player of the Week.
-On offense, Kortez Weeks hauled in a career-high 14 receptions for 165 yards. He caught 14 of Davis Cheek's 24 competions and accounted for all but 93 of Elon's receiving yards for the day. His 14 receptions marked the most in a game since Aaron Mellette caught 14 balls against Furman on Oct. 27, 2012. 
-Malcolm Summers eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second consecutive game, rushing for 124 yards and a touchdown in the victory. 

SUMMERS RUNNING WILD
-Malcolm Summers 150 yards on 29 carries at Charleston Southern on Sept. 22 made him Elon's first 100-yard rusher of the season. His 150 yards stands this week as the fourth-best total by a CAA Football ball carrier to date this year.
-The senior also rushed for 124 yards on 22 carries last time out against New Hampshire to total 274 yards in his last two games.
-Summers is now averaging 101.5 yards per game on the ground this season.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP HERE
-Davis Cheek has put together an impressive run in completing 55 of his last 72 passes in Elon's three FCS games with three touchdowns and no turnovers. 
-In all, Cheek has completed 76.4 percent of his passes against FCS competition this year.

CAA HONORS
-After coming up with 11 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in the win over Furman, McAllister Ingram was named CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10. The 11 tackles set a new career high for the sophomore. On the second play of the game, Ingram stripped Furman quarterback Darren Grainger and Greg Liggs, Jr. recovered the fumble and took it 22 yards for the game-opening score.
-With nine tackles, 4.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks, Marcus Willoughby was named Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 1. In all, Willoughby was one tackle short of tying his career high, but his 4.5 tackles for loss nearly doubled his previous career high of 2.5. He helped set a tone for the rest of the defensive unit that allowed just 46 yards and zero points in the second half.

DON'T MESS WITH MESSER
-Presented annually to the top defensive player at the FCS level, Warren Messer was named one of 25 players nationwide to the Buck Buchanan Watch List on Aug. 2.
-Messer was also named to a trio of All-America teams, earning first-team recognition from STATS, Athlon Sports and HERO Sports.

PRESEASON SELECTIONS
-Linebacker Warren Messer and offensive lineman CJ Toogood were picked to the 2018 CAA Football Preseason All-Conference team in July.
-Messer was named First Team All-CAA Football after the 2018 season while picking up a pair of Second Team All-America honors after recording 114 tackles, including 11.0 for loss and 5.5 sacks.
-Toogood, a Second Team All-CAA Football selection a season ago, helped Elon's rushing attack finish fourth in the league and 56th in the nation with 164.5 rushing yards per game. Overall, Elon's O-line group helped the Phoenix rank fourth in the league with 23 sacks allowed.
-In the preseason poll, Elon was picked fifth and received one first-place vote. A year ago, the Phoenix was picked 11th and closed the season third while playing for a share of the CAA regular-season title on the final day of the regular campaign against No. 1 James Madison.

WATCH QB1
-Sophomore quarterback Davis Cheek was named to the CFPA FCS National Player of the Year Trophy Watch List on Aug. 20.
-The Matthews, N.C., native closed his 2017 rookie campaign as the CAA Football Offensive Rookie of the Year and was picked fifth in voting for the Jerry Rice Award, which is given annually to the top freshman at the FCS level. 

HEAD COACH CURT CIGNETTI
-Elon is under the leadership of Curt Cignetti who was named the program's 22nd head football coach on Dec. 31, 2016.
-The assistant coach/recruiting coordinator on Nick Saban's undefeated 2009 National Championship team at Alabama, Cignetti previously spent six seasons as the head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, amassing a record of 53-17.
-Cignetti is the sixth man to guide the Phoenix since the program moved to Division I play for the 1999 season.

THE FAMILY BUSINESS
-Elon's second-year head coach Curt Cignetti grew up around football. His father Frank compiled a career 199-77-1 record as a collegiate head coach at West Virginia and IUP and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. His brother, Frank Jr., is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers.

UP NEXT
-Closing a stretch in which it plays four of its first six games of the season on the road, Elon will head to Delaware on Saturday, Oct. 13, for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against the Blue Hens. Elon has played Delaware twice in its CAA Football tenure to date, falling 14-10 in 2015 and 34-24 in 2014.