ELON, N.C. -- The latest era in Elon Phoenix football gets underway Saturday night as new head coach Jason Swepson leads the team onto the field for the first time against the Vanderbilt Commodores.  Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern from Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

Site: Nashville, Tenn.
Stadium: Vanderbilt Stadium
Surface: AstroTurf
Capacity: 41,000
Radio: WPCM 920 AM – David Hibbard (play-by-play) and Taylor Durham (color)
TV: CSS – Matt Stewart (play-by-play), Chris Doering (color) and Suzette Taylor (sideline)
Series: First Meeting

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Game Notes

Did you Know?
• This will be Elon’s first ever meeting against a member of the Southeastern Conference.
• Jason Swepson is the 20th coach to guide the Elon program.
• The previous 19 coaches have gone 11-8 in their debuts.
• Elon is playing its fourth ever game against a FBS opponent. The others are South Florida (2007), Wake Forest (2009) and Duke (2010).
• Elon has had four consecutive winning seasons, a first for the program since a stretch of nine straight winning years from 1980-88.

Connections
• Vanderbilt first-year head coach James Franklin was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Maryland from 2008-10 where he mentored current Elon quarterback, and Maryland transfer, Tyler Smith last season.
• The Commodores’ Director of Football Operations, Michael Hazel, is a former Phoenix football player. The linebacker earned his bachelor’s degree from Elon in 2001 and his MBA from Elon in 2004.

The Coaches
• Elon’s Jason Swepson is in his first season as a collegiate head coach. He is 0-0 for both his career and in his tenure with the Phoenix.
• Vanderbilt’s James Franklin is also in his first season as a collegiate head coach.

Notable Numbers
1 - Career starts by quarterbacks on the Elon roster. Thomas Wilson started at The Citadel in 2010.

4 - Consecutive winning seasons for Elon, a first for the program since the move to Division I. The last three straight winning campaigns came from 1991-93. Elon has not had five consecutive winning seasons since the program ended nine straight years with a winning mark from 1980-88.

40 - Red zone scores by the Phoenix in 48 red zone possessions in 2010.

45 - Number of points by which Elon outscored its opponents in the first quarter of games in 2010.

100.00 - Average yards receiving per game for Aaron Mellette in 2010 which ranked sixth on the FCS level. Mellette’s 7.82 receptions per game rated third.

With a Win...
...Elon would win its opener for the second time in three seasons.
...Jason Swepson would become the 12th Elon head coach to win his team debut.
...the Phoenix would pick up its first ever victory over a FBS opponent.
...Elon would claim its 478th victory in program history.

Oh Captain, My Captain
At the start of preseason camp, the Elon players, coaches and support staff voted on the 2011 team captains. Selected were senior offensive linemen Rodney Austin and Ned Cuthbertson, senior linebacker Joshua Jones and junior defensive back Blake Thompson.

Elon vs. FBS Opponents
Elon’s Sept. 3 game at Vanderbilt marks just the fourth time that Elon has taken on a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent. The first was a 28-13 loss at South Florida to open the 2007 season. USF would later peak at #2 in the FBS polls. In 2009 Elon dropped a 35-7 decision at Wake Forest before falling 41-27 at Duke a year ago.

Elon is slated to take on North Carolina (2012) and Georgia Tech (2013) in coming seasons.

Rookie Coach
New Elon head coach Jason Swepson is the 20th coach in the history of the program. It is Swepson’s first head coaching job. Now in his 20th sesaon as a collegiate coach, Swepson spent the previous four seasons as the running backs coach at North Carolina State.

Here is a look at how the previous 19 Elon coaches fared in their first campaigns at the helm of the maroon and gold:

Coach (Season) Record
Reddie Rowe (1909) 4-1
Jack Johnson (1919) 1-2
Frank Corboy (1920) 3-4
A.R. VanCleave (1926) 0-10
D.C. “Peahead” Walker (1927) 3-4-1
Horace Hendrickson (1937) 7-1
Hap Perry (1946) 4-5-1
James Mallory (1948) 4-5-1
Sid Varney (1953) 1-6-1
George Tucker (1960) 4-6
Gary Mattocks (1965) 2-8
“Red” Wilson (1967) 5-3-1
Jerry Tolley (1977) 9-2
Wright Anderson (1982) 7-3
Mackey Carden (1984) 7-3
Leon Hart (1989) 1-9
Al Seagraves (1996) 4-7
Paul Hamilton (2004) 3-8
Pete Lembo (2006) 5-6

Elon is Season Openers
Playing its 90th season of football in 2011, the Elon program has compiled a mark of 40-48-1 in its previous 89 season-openers. Since moving to NCAA Division I play for the 1999 campaign, the maroon and gold has posted a 4-8 record in games to start the year.

Elon Against Tennessee
Elon has played just two opponents from the state of Tennessee – Chattanooga and East Tennessee State. The Phoenix is 6-2 all-time against UTC and is 1-2 against ETSU.

Opening Statement
A year ago Elon was definitely a first half team as the Phoenix outscored its opponents by a margin of 197-139, including 83-38 in the first quarter. Elon headed into halftime trailing in just three games in 2010.

A Tough Start
In 11 games in 2010, Elon allowed an opponent to score on its opening drive on just three occasions. The teams to accomplish it were Duke, Appalachian State and Chattanooga.

Arrival of Mellette
In the year following the departure of the all-time leading receiver in the history of the FCS, Terrell Hudgins, Elon turned to then-sophomore wide out Aaron Mellette who would go on to earn All-America accolades.

To fill that void Mellette caught 86 balls for 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 7.82 receptions per game led the SoCon and ranked third in the FCS while his 100.00 receiving yards per outing were second in the SoCon and sixth in the nation. Mellette’s 12 TD grabs also topped the league.

In Elon’s game at Richmond in 2010, Mellette set a new Elon record with 19 receptions, surpassing the mark of 18 set by Hudgins.

Ones to Watch
Two Elon players – wide receiver Aaron Mellette and defensive back Blake Thompson – were each named to watch lists as the top player at their position by College Football Performance Awards prior to the season.

Linebacker Dale Riley also appeared on a list. Riley is one of a record 132 nominees for the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He is one of three SoCon players on the initial list.

Under Center
Elon will look to replace four-year starting signal-caller Scott Riddle this year. In his four seasons in the maroon and gold, Riddle threw for a SoCon-record 13,264 career yards (fifth all-time at the FCS level) and 105 touchdown passes. He is the only player to ever lead the SoCon in passing for four consecutive seasons.

Junior Thomas Wilson begins the season as the heir to Riddle. Wilson started one game last year (at The Citadel) when Riddle was injured. In his career, Wilson has appeared in 12 games, passing for 443 yards and two touchdowns.

A Return to Football
Junior defensive back David Wood joined the Elon football team this season after spending his first two years on campus as a member of the Phoenix’s baseball program.

Wood, who is expected to see time both on the defensive side of the ball and returning kicks, returned to the gridiron for the first time in about two-and-a-half years this summer. Wood was an all-state performer in New Jersey as a prep and totaled 14 career INTs.

Home Cooking
In 2010, the Phoenix went 4-1 at Rhodes Stadium, outscoring its home foes 175-112 (35.0-22.4). Elon averaged 478.6 yards per game in Rhodes Stadium and allowed an average of 331.4 yards per game.

Since 2007, Elon has gone 17-5 (.773) in the confines of Rhodes Stadium.