#5 Elon Phoenix (5-2, 3-1) vs. Rhode Island Rams (5-3, 3-2)

Date | Time	Saturday, Nov. 3 | 1:30 p.m.
Location	Rhodes Stadium (Elon, N.C.)
Series Record	Series tied 1-1
Tickets	Buy Now
TV Coverage	Phoenix All-Access
Video Coverage	Watch Live
Stats	Live Stats
Radio Coverage	Phoenix All-Access | TuneIn App
Game Program	Click Here
Game Notes	Elon Game Notes | URI Game Notes | CAA Football Notes
Twitter	@ElonFootball | @ElonPhoenix

 

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ELON, N.C. – Opening the final month of the regular season, sixth-ranked Elon University football will host Rhode Island on Saturday, Nov. 3, at 1:30 p.m. on Homecoming Weekend for the Phoenix.

Fans can watch the game live on Phoenix All-Access 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-Rhode Island is set to start at 12:30 p.m.

SATURDAY'S GAME IS...
-...the 974th in program history.
-...the 223rd as a FCS program.
-...the 100th at Rhodes Stadium. 
-...the third all-time between Elon and Rhode Island. 

AN ELON WIN WOULD BE...
-...Elon's 508th in program history.
-...Elon's 96th as a FCS program. 
-...Elon's second all-time over Rhode Island.
-...Elon's second in a row over Rhode Island
-...Curt Cignetti's 14th at Elon and 67th as head coach.
-...Elon's second-straight victory. 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
8:30 a.m. – Parking lots open
11:00 a.m. – Phoenix Walk
12:00 p.m. – Ticket windows, bag check and gates open
12:00 p.m. – Phun Zone opens
1:15 p.m. – Fire of the Carolinas performs / National anthem
1:15 p.m. – Letterwinner's Lounge opens in the Walker Room of Alumni Field House
1:31 p.m. – Elon takes the field
1:35 p.m. – Kickoff vs. Rhode Island

BAG POLICY AT RHODES STADIUM    
Elon University has implemented a policy for bags entering Rhodes Stadium. All bags entering the stadium will be checked before fans reach the ticket booths at the facility. Multiple lines will be available and there will be specific lines for fans entering with no bags.

The following items will be prohibited from Rhodes Stadium:
-Weapons
-Explosives
-Alcoholic beverages
-Artificial noise makers
-Outside food and beverages
-Smoking and tobacco products
-E-cigarettes
-Umbrellas
-Containers or coolers
-Flags on poles
-Bicycles, skateboards or rollerblades
-Pets (except service animals with proper documentation)

FOOTBALL GAME DAY
-For more information on ticketing, parking and directions to Rhodes Stadium, please visit the Football Game Day web page.

GAME DAY PROGRAMS
-For the fourth-straight year, Elon will offer a digital game program that includes rosters, stats and video features. Make sure you are prepared for the game by utilizing the digital program.

SERIES HISTORY
-Elon and Rhode Island have met twice before with the two matchups coming in each of the last two seasons.
-Both teams have won on the road in the series with Elon winning 35-34 last season in Kingston, R.I., and Rhode Island winning 44-14 in 2016 at Rhodes Stadium. 
-Last year, Warren Messer picked off a JaJuan Lawson pass in Elon territory in the final minute to seal the road victory. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS
-Elon is ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 8 in the STATS FCS Poll this week. 
-The Phoenix is joined by five CAA Football teams in the STATS poll in James Madison (No. 3), Delaware (No. 13), Towson (No. 15), Stony Brook (No. 16) and Maine (No. 23). In the AFCA poll, Elon is accompanied by James Madison (No. 3), Towson (No. 15), Delaware (No. 16) and Stony Brook (No. 18).
-Elon has now been ranked for 17 consecutive games going back to Sept. 30, 2017, when Elon hosted Albany at Rhodes Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
-In a battle with Richmond, Elon jumped out to an early lead and held off the Spiders throughout the afternoon on the way to a 38-28 win on Oct. 20.
-Richmond tied the game at 7-7, 14-14 and 21-21 before the Phoenix put the game away in the second half. 
-Jalen Greene threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 79 more yards and a score. Jaylan Thomas carried the ball 27 times for 150 yards and a score while catching two balls for 27 yards with another touchdown. For his efforts, he was named CAA Rookie of the Week. 

NEARING 100
-Elon has played 99 games to date inside Rhodes Stadium with the 100th game set for this weekend's contest on homecoming weekend against Rhode Island. 
-Rhodes Stadium opened Sept. 22, 2001, when Elon hosted North Carolina A&T. In all, Elon is 45-54 in the stadium. 

ROAD WARRIORS
-In each of Elon's last nine road games, it has trailed at some point in the second half. In those nine games, Elon has won six of them. 
-Over the course of the last three seasons, Elon has defeated a Top 10 program on the road in each campaign by beating No. 8 William & Mary 27-10 in 2016, No. 6 Richmond 36-33 in 2017 and No. 2 James Madison 27-24 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.
-After the win over No. 2 James Madison, Malcolm Summers was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week and Zack Monson was tabbed CAA Rookie of the Week. Summers ran for 186 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown run of 59 yards to mark a career-long for the senior. Monson, who was making his first-career start, made 12 tackles and had 2.0 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks. 
-Following Elon's win over Richmond, Jaylan Thomas earned Rookie of the Week thanks to his 27-carry, 150-yard performance on the ground with another 27 yards through the air with two combined touchdowns.

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.

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.

2019 SEASON
The 2019 football schedule was released Wednesday, Oct. 31. The 11-game schedule features five home games against The Citadel, James Madison, Delaware, William & Mary and Maine.
-Road games in FCS play throughout the year include trips to North Carolina A&T, Richmond, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Towson.
-After starting the season with three FCS games, Elon will close non-conference play with a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., to battle the ACC's Wake Forest on Sept. 21. 
-For more on the 2019 schedule, click here. 

FOR MORE...
-...information about this week's game, visit the game notes in the information box at the top of the page.

UP NEXT
-Closing out its 2018 regular-season home slate, Elon will host No. 15 Towson on Saturday, Nov. 10, for Senior Day. The Phoenix defeated the Tigers 33-30 in double overtime last season. Towson is part of the log jam atop the CAA Football standings with a 4-1 mark heading into action this weekend.