ELON, N.C. -- Saturday evening will bring the start of Elon football's 10th season of Southern Conference action as the Phoenix visits 10th-ranked Georgia Southern for a 6 p.m. showdown.

Site: Statesboro, Ga.
Stadium: Paulson Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass
Capacity: 18,000
Radio: WPCM 920 AM – David Hibbard (play-by-play) and Taylor Durham (color)
TV: None
Series: Elon trails 3-9

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Game Notes

The Matchup
Elon and Georgia Southern are meeting for 13th time.  This will be the sixth time that the Phoenix has opened SoCon play with the Eagles.

The Phoenix enters this game with a 2-1 record after cruising to a 48-14 victory over West Virginia State a week ago.  Georgia Southern is 1-1 after dropping a 23-21 game at The Citadel two weeks ago.  The Eagles had a bye last Saturday.

The Series
Elon trails in the series with Georgia Southern by a 3-9 margin.  The Eagles have claimed the last two victories with the Phoenix winning three straight from 2007-2009.  The first-ever meeting between the two programs came in the season opener of the 1998 campaign.  In that game, Georgia Southern claimed a 31-17 victory in Statesboro.

The Coaches
Elon: Jason Swepson (Boston College ‘92) is 7-7 and is in his second year as a head coach, both with the Phoenix.  Prior to becoming Elon’s head coach, Swepson spent 12 years as an assistant with Tom O’Brien at both Boston College and NC State.

Georgia Southern: Jeff Monken (Millikin ‘89) is 22-9 in his third season as a collegiate head coach, all with the Eagles.

A Numbers Game
• 3 - Number of Elon players to have 3,000 career receiving yards now that Aaron Mellette accomplished the feat.  Mellette (3,034 yards) joins Terrell Hudgins (5,250) and Richard McGeorge (3,486) in that category.  He is also just the eighth player in SoCon history to reach 3,000 yards receiving.
• 4,038 - Number of career passing yards by Thomas Wilson, the fourth Elon quarterback to reach that milestone.  He joins Scott Riddle (13,264), Burgin Beale (5,611) and John Bangley (4,795).

It Happened on September 22
Elon Football: On Sept. 22, 2001, Elon opened Rhodes Stadium with a 23-7 defeat at the hands of North Carolina A&T.

World Events: On Sept. 22, 1989, composer Irving Berlin died at the age of 101.

Ties With This Week’s Opponent
• Elon defensive back Ed Burns is from Sylvania, Ga., just under 30 minutes outside of Statesboro. 
• Including Burns, Elon’s roster features seven players from the state of Georgia.
• Elon offensive lineman Haris Cesko and GSU tight end Wilson Hudgins both attended Grayson High.

Milestone Numbers
Two Elon players reached significant milestones in the Phoenix’s 48-14 victory over West Virginia State on Sept. 15.  Wide receiver Aaron Mellette caught nine passes for 129 yards and two scores to move past 3,000 career receiving yards.  He is just the third Elon player and eighth SoCon performer to reach that milestone.  That same day, quarterback Thomas Wilson completed 18 passes for 261 yards and four scores.  That performance moved him past the 4,000-yard passing mark for his career.  Wilson is just the fourth Elon QB to ever reach that standard.

300
In the win over West Virginia State, the Elon offense racked up 301 yards rushing.  Freshman Thuc Phan led the way with 110 yards on 15 carries.  The 301 rushing yards were the most by an Elon team since a 307-yard performance in a 21-13 win at Charleston Southern on Nov. 16, 2002.

Without Swepson
Elon had to play its game against West Virginia State without head coach Jason Swepson who had been hospitalized the previous day with chest pains.  Defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham was the acting head coach for the contest, a 48-14 victory.

Mellette in SoCon Top 10
Now in his senior campaign, wide receiver Aaron Mellette ranks among the SoCon’s all-time career leaders in receptions, touchdown grabs, 100-yard receiving games and receiving yards.  Mellette currently sits fourth with 222 catches, fourth with 29 TD receptions, fifth with 16 100-yard receiving games and seventh with 3,034 receiving yards.

Sit Tight
Elon has been in a number of tightly contested games since 2010.  In fact, of the last 23 tilts, 10 have been decided by seven points or fewer.  The Phoenix has gone 6-4 in those games.

Air Attack
Over the past few years Elon has been known for its passing attack.  The Phoenix has ranked no lower than 23rd nationally in passing yards per game in each of the past six seasons and twice the maroon and gold was second nationally.  In that span, an Elon quarterback has thrown for 3,000 or more yards on four occasions.