| #5 Elon Phoenix (6-2, 4-1) vs. #20 Towson Tigers (6-3, 4-2) |
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ELON, N.C. – Set to close the 2018 regular-season home slate, fifth-ranked Elon University football will host 20th-ranked Towson on Saturday, Nov. 10, at Rhodes Stadium for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 12 noon.
Fans can watch the game live on Phoenix All-Access. 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-Towson is set to start at 11:00 a.m.
SATURDAY'S GAME IS...
-...the 975th in program history.
-...the 224th as a FCS program.
-...the 101st at Rhodes Stadium.
-...the eighth all-time between Elon and Towson.
AN ELON WIN WOULD BE...
-...Elon's 509th in program history.
-...Elon's 97th as a FCS program.
-...Elon's third all-time over Towson.
-...Elon's second in a row over Towson.
-...
Curt Cignetti's 15th at Elon and 68th as head coach.
-...Elon's third-straight victory.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
7:00 a.m. – Parking lots open
10:30 a.m. – Ticket windows, bag check and gates open
10:30 a.m. – Phun Zone opens
11:45 a.m. – Fire of the Carolinas performs / National anthem
11:45 a.m. – Letterwinner's Lounge opens in the Walker Room of Alumni Field House
12:01 p.m. – Elon takes the field
12:05 p.m. – Kickoff vs. Towson
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.
NO PHOENIX WALK
-With an early kickoff an cool temperatures predicted for Saturday morning, the team will not take the Phoenix Walk to the locker room before the game on Bank of America Drive.
SERIES HISTORY
-The Phoenix and Tigers have met seven times to date, including each of the first four seasons Elon has been a member of the CAA.
-To date, Towson has won five of the seven meetings. But since Elon joined the CAA, the two teams have split the four contests with Elon winning 33-30 in double overtime last time the two met in 2017 on Homecoming at Rhodes Stadium.
-Of the four meetings as CAA foes, three have been decided by four points or less.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
-Elon is ranked No. 5 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the STATS FCS Poll this week.
-Elon is followed by five other CAA teams in the AFCA poll in James Madison (No. 10), Delaware (No. 12), Stony Brook (No. 15), Towson (No. 20) and Maine (No. 21).
-In the STATS poll, Elon is accompanied by James Madison (No. 9), Delaware (No. 11), Stony Brook (No. 12), Maine (No. 16), Towson (No. 20).
-Elon has now been ranked for 18 consecutive games going back to Sept. 30, 2017, when Elon hosted Albany at Rhodes Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
-Taking on Rhode Island on Homecoming 2018, Elon used two big second-quarter plays to seal the victory over the Rams, 24-21.
-Tied at 7-7 with 2:02 left in the half,
Jaylan Thomas broke free for an 86-yard touchdown run. The rush is the fifth-longest in Elon football history and the longest since Derrick Moore took a program-record 90-yard run in 1998.
-Just 90 seconds later,
Warren Messer picked off a batted pass and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown. The interception return is the seventh-longest in school history and the first pick six since Elon also had an interception returned for a touchdown against Rhode Island last time the Rams visited Rhodes Stadium in 2016.
-Thomas finished with 222 yards on 18 carries to average 12.3 yards per rush. The total is the ninth-best in Elon history and the second-most by a rookie back in school history.
HITTING 100
-Elon has played 100 games to date inside Rhodes Stadium.
-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
Offensive Player of the Week
-
Malcolm Summers | Oct. 8
-
Jaylan Thomas | Nov. 5
Defensive Player of the Week
-
McAllister Ingram | Sept. 10
-
Marcus Willoughby | Oct. 1
-
Warren Messer | Nov. 5
Rookie of the Week
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Zack Monson | Oct. 8
-
Jaylan Thomas | Oct. 22
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
-Finishing the regular season, Elon will visit Maine for a crucial CAA battle on Saturday, Nov. 17. Kickoff is set for 12 noon in Orono. Entering this weekend, Elon and Maine are two of three teams in the CAA with one loss and in contention for the CAA regular-season title. Delaware is the other CAA team with one loss entering the final two weeks of the regular season.
– ELON –
