#12 Elon Phoenix (1-1, 0-0) at Charleston Southern Buccaneers (0-1, 0-0)

Date | Time	Saturday, Sept. 22 | 6 p.m.
Location	Buccaneer Field (North Charleston, S.C.)
Series Record	Elon leads 5-0
Live Stats	Live Stats
Radio Coverage	Phoenix All-Access | TuneIn App
TV Coverage	ESPN+
Video Coverage	Watch Live
Tickets	Buy Now
Game Notes	Elon Game Notes | CSU Game Notes | CAA Football Notes
Twitter	@ElonFootball | @ElonPhoenix

 

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ELON, N.C. – Following a week away from action, Elon University football returns to the field Saturday, Sept. 22, for its non-conference finale against Charleston Southern. Kickoff at Buccaneer Field in North Charleston, S.C., is set for 6 p.m.

Fans can watch the game live on ESPN+ with Kevin O'Rourke and Danny Croghan III in the booth with Danielle Hensley on the sidelines. 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 serving as the color analyst. Links to listen live can be found by visiting elonphoenix.com/Live. Pregame coverage of Elon-Charleston Southern is set to start at 5 p.m.

SATURDAY'S GAME IS...
-...the 969th in program history.
-...the 218th as a FCS program.
-...the sixth between Elon and Charleston Southern.

AN ELON WIN WOULD BE...
-...Elon's 504th in program history.
-...Elon's 92nd as a FCS program. 
-...Elon's sixth all-time over Charleston Southern.
-...Curt Cignetti's 10th at Elon and 63rd as a head coach.
-...Elon's second-straight victory.

SERIES HISTORY
-Elon and Charleston Southern have met five times going back to 1999. Elon has won all five meetings to date. 
-Last time the two teams met was last season at Rhodes Stadium. In that contest, Elon defeated No. 16 Charleston Southern 19-17 after racing out to a 19-7 lead. In the end, Charleston Southern missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired to give Curt Cignetti the win in his home debut at Elon.
-While Elon owns a 5-0 lead in the series, the last two contests in 2002 and 2017 have been decided by an average of 5.0 points with Elon winning 21-13 in 2002 and 19-17 in 2017.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
-Elon is ranked No. 12 in this week's STATS FCS Top 25 Poll and also checked in at No. 12 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll.
-The CAA has six of its 12 teams ranked in both polls with three others getting votes in both polls. 
-Elon has now been ranked for 12 consecutive games going back to Sept. 30, 2017, when Elon hosted Albany at Rhodes Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
-Scoring on the second play of the game with Greg Liggs, Jr., returning a fumble 22 yards to the house, Elon raced out to a quick lead and never looked back on the way to beating No. 21 Furman 45-7 on Saturday, Sept. 8.
-The 38-point margin of victory is Elon's largest over a ranked team since moving to Division I. The previous best was 21 points against Furman, a 31-10 win over the Paladins on Oct. 4, 2010.
-With a 54-yard rushing TD on the night, Malcolm Summers' carry marks the longest rushing play for Elon since Karl Bostick ran 55 yards Nov. 16, 2013, against Georgia Southern. 
-In all, the Phoenix ran for 275 yards and Davis Cheek went 12-of-15 passing for 173 yards and a touchdown.

THOMAS ON THE MOVE
-Jaylan Thomas has led Elon in rushing each of the first two games of 2018. In leading one game, it marked the fourth-straight season a rookie has led the Phoenix in rushing in at least one game. 
-Thomas also became the first freshman to lead the Phoenix in rushing in consecutive games since De'Sean McNair was Elon's leading rusher in the final three games of 2016 (Towson, Rhode Island, James Madison).

OPPOSITION'S RUSHING WOES
-In holding Furman to 195 rushing yards on Sept. 8, Elon's defense has now held opponents under 200 rushing yards 10 times in the past 11 games.

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.

TIES TO THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
-Elon's 2018 roster sports four players from the state of South Carolina in...
    -Defensive lineman Tiras Williams (Anderson, S.C./T.L. Hanna)
    -Quarterback Daniel Thompson (Boiling Springs, S.C./Boiling Springs)
    -Defensive back Charles Hartsock (Charleston, S.C./Porter-Gaud)
    -Punter Jack Pawloski (Florence, S.C./Wilson)

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.
-In the season opener at USF, Messer had nine tackles - all solo - to lead the Phoenix defense. He also led the team with 11 tackles against Furman. 

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
-Elon will play its first CAA Football game of the year when it hosts New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 29, for Family Weekend at Rhodes Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. It can also be heard over the airwaves exclusively through Phoenix All-Access and the TuneIn app. New Hampshire started the season inside the Top 10 nationally, but has since fallen out with its 0-3 start to the season. New Hampshire is not in action this weekend. It last took the field Saturday, Sept. 15, in a 45-14 loss at Colorado.