2018 Elon Phoenix football team

The 2018 Elon Phoenix football team represented Elon University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Rhodes Stadium. They were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 6–5, 4–3 in CAA play to finish in sixth place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they were lost to Wofford in the first round.

2018 Elon Phoenix football
ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Ranking
STATSNo. 19
FCS CoachesNo. 19
Record6–5 (4–3 CAA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDrew Folmar (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorTony Trisciani (2nd season)
Home stadiumRhodes Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Maine $^   7 1     10 4  
No. 9 James Madison ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 16 Stony Brook ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 20 Towson ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 24 Delaware ^   5 3     7 5  
No. 19 Elon ^   4 3     6 5  
Rhode Island   4 4     6 5  
William & Mary   3 4     4 6  
New Hampshire   3 5     4 7  
Villanova   2 6     5 6  
Richmond   2 6     4 7  
Albany   1 7     3 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

On December 14, head coach Curt Cignetti resigned to become the head coach at James Madison.[1] He finished at Elon with a two-year record of 14–9.

Preseason

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CAA Poll

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In the CAA preseason poll released on July 24, 2018, the Phoenix were predicted to finish in fifth place.[2]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 James Madison 241 (21)
2 New Hampshire 206 (2)
3 Delaware 182
4 Stony Brook 169
5 Elon 168 (1)
6 Villanova 164
7 Richmond 127
8 Maine 81
9 Albany 78
10 Towson 74
11 William & Mary 55
12 Rhode Island 39

Preseason All-CAA Team

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The Phoenix had two players selected to the preseason all-CAA team.

Award watch lists

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Award Player Position Year
Buck Buchanan Award[3] Warren Messer LB SR

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:00 p.m.at South Florida*No. 12ESPN3L 14–3431,217
September 86:00 p.m.No. 25 Furman*No. 15CBSI Digital/CBS SportsLiveW 45–78,058
September 156:00 p.m.at William & MaryNo. 14 Canceled[a]
September 226:00 p.m.at Charleston Southern*No. 12ESPN+W 31–222,465
September 291:30 p.m.New HampshireNo. 11
  • Rhodes Stadium
  • Elon, NC
PAAW 30–910,856
October 61:30 p.m.at No. 2 James MadisonNo. 10MASN/SNYW 27–2425,484
October 133:30 p.m.at DelawareNo. 5NBCS PHILL 16–2819,209
October 201:30 p.m.RichmondNo. 11
  • Rhodes Stadium
  • Elon, NC
FCS/FSGOW 38–285,982
November 31:30 p.m.Rhode Island No. 8
  • Rhodes Stadium
  • Elon, NC
PAAW 24–2110,513
November 1012:00 p.m.No. 20 TowsonNo. 7
  • Rhodes Stadium
  • Elon, NC
PAAL 10–415,927
November 1712:00 p.m.at No. 16 MaineNo. 14FCSL 26–276,584
November 242:00 p.m.at No. 13 Wofford*No. 17ESPN3L 7–192,157
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
  1. ^ The William & Mary game was postponed due to Hurricane Florence; it was intended to be rescheduled, but was canceled on September 19, 2018.[4]

Source:[5]

Game summaries

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At South Florida

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 12 Phoenix 0 0 7 7 14
Bulls 7 17 7 3 34

Furman

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 25 Paladins 0 0 0 7 7
No. 15 Phoenix 14 14 10 7 45

At Charleston Southern

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 12 Phoenix 3 7 21 0 31
Buccaneers 13 6 3 0 22

New Hampshire

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1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 3 6 0 0 9
No. 11 Phoenix 7 17 3 3 30

At James Madison

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 10 Phoenix 0 7 3 17 27
No. 2 Dukes 3 6 3 12 24

At Delaware

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Phoenix 7 3 6 0 16
Fightin' Blue Hens 0 7 7 14 28

Richmond

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1 2 3 4 Total
Spiders 7 7 7 7 28
No. 11 Phoenix 14 7 14 3 38

Rhode Island

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1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 7 0 0 14 21
No. 8 Phoenix 0 21 0 3 24

Towson

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 20 Tigers 7 7 10 17 41
No. 7 Phoenix 0 3 7 0 10

At Maine

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Phoenix 0 10 10 6 26
No. 16 Black Bears 0 13 14 0 27

FCS Playoffs

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At Wofford–First Round

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 17 Phoenix 0 7 0 0 7
No. 13 Terriers 3 3 10 3 19

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS121514121110511887141719
Coaches1315141299611665121719

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
6 193 Olisaemeka Udoh OT Minnesota Vikings

References

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  1. ^ "Curt Cignetti Takes Helm of James Madison Football".
  2. ^ Washburn, Rob (July 24, 2018). "James Madison Favored To Win Fourth Straight CAA Football Title in 2018". Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  3. ^ "FCS football: 2018 Buck Buchanan Award watch list announced". August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "Elon/William & Mary Football Game Will Not Be Rescheduled". Elon University Department of Athletics. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "2018 Football Schedule". Elon University Department of Athletics. Retrieved May 5, 2018.