Football | 9/13/2023 6:01:00 PM

GAME: North Carolina A&T Aggies (0-2, 0-0 CAA) at Elon (0-2, 0-0 CAA) 
DATE: September 16, 2023
TIME: 6 p.m. 
LOCATION: Elon, N.C. (Rhodes Stadium)
FLOFOOTBALL/MY 48 WMYV ANNOUNCERS: Taylor Durham (play-by-play), Khirey Walker (analyst)
RADIO ANNOUNCERS: Donal Ware (play-by-play); Al Swann (analyst); Billy Covington 
RADIO STATIONS: 1400 AM, 103.5 FM, XM Radio 386

GREENSBORO – Conference play begins on Saturday for the North Carolina A&T Aggies when they travel to Elon University to play the Phoenix. It will be A&T's first-ever Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Football Conference game and the second time in three seasons the Aggies have played an inaugural conference game. The Aggies played their inaugural Big South Conference game on Oct. 2, 2021, at home against Robert Morris University, winning 41-14. 

Saturday will mark A&T's 13th meeting against the Phoenix and the first since the Aggies defeated Elon on a game-winning 52-yard field goal as time expired on Aug. 31, 2019, in Greensboro, N.C. A&T has won the last four meetings against the Phoenix, but this will be the first time the two Piedmont Division I-FCS programs have met as conference opponents. 

Like A&T, Elon is seeking its first win of the season after losing its first two games to Wake Forest and Gardner-Webb, respectively. The Phoenix is coming off its best season under fifth-year head Tony Trisciani. Elon went 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the CAA, finishing 17th in the FCS STATS Media Poll and 18th in the FCS Coaches' Poll. The Phoenix lost to Furman in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs to end the 2022 season.

STORYLINES:

• For the fourth time in program history, the Aggies will be playing in an inaugural conference game when they kick the ball off at Elon on Saturday. A&T played its first CIAA game on Oct. 11, 1924, ending in a 6-6 tie. Forty-seven years later, on September 18, 1971, the Aggies finished in a scoreless tie against South Carolina State in their first-ever Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tilt. Fifty years later, the Aggies defeated RMU in their first Big South game. 
• Under head coach Tony Trisciani, Elon is familiar with A&T head coach Vincent Brown. Before becoming the Aggies head coach, Brown spent four seasons at William & Mary, serving as their defensive coordinator. The Tribe won three of four from the Phoenix during that span, including a five-overtime thriller in 2019. The Phoenix did beat the Tribe last season in Williamsburg, Va.
• Another connection heading into Saturday's game comes from A&T offensive coordinator Chris Young. Young coached wide receivers last season at Elon. He helped the Phoenix to the 45th-best passing offense in the nation. Young started at Elon in 2019. 
• A&T's last trip to Elon came on Sept. 19, 2015. The Aggies defeated the Phoenix 14-7 that night on a late Tarik Cohen touchdown. 
• The Aggies are 4-2 at Elon, with Elon's last win over the Aggies at home coming in 2005, a 12-9 Phoenix win. 
• Similar to A&T, Elon is trying to figure out its quarterback situation. Justin Allen threw 29 passes for the Phoenix against Wake Forest in Week 1, while Matthew Downing threw the ball 25 times last week against Gardner-Webb. 
• Downing has played at Georgia, TCU and Louisiana Tech. Allen is the more experienced quarterback in an Elon uniform, having played 12 games. 
• On A&T's side, redshirt freshman Eli Brickhandler has started A&T's first two games. He shared time with freshman Kevin White at UAB during Week 1 before Zach Yeager entered the NCCU game with 5:52 reaming in the first quarter and played the remainder of the game. Yeager went 7-for-14 in the air with 51 yards passing. Neither Elon nor A&T has settled on a permanent starter. 
• A&T running back Kenji Christian is coming off the best game of his collegiate career, rushing for 98 yards on 12 carries. Christian has contributed on four of the six Aggies' biggest plays from scrimmage this season with runs of 35, 27, 25 and 15. 
• Meanwhile, his backfield mate, Wesley Graves, had the Aggies longest run from scrimmage this season when he ran 47 yards for a touchdown against NCCU. It is the Aggies only offensive touchdown this season. 
• BJ Turner did not have a double-figure tackle game in his career at Charlotte. But in two games in an Aggies uniform, Turner has two double-figure tackle games after recording 14 stops at UAB and 10 against NCCU. 
• Taymon Cooke earned honorable mention honors from the CAA in the preseason as a kickoff returner. Last season, he returned a 95-yard kickoff for a touchdown against Charleston Southern. He returned his second career kickoff return for a touchdown last week against NCCU, going 80 yards for the score in the second quarter. 
• The Aggies are trying to avoid back-to-back 0-3 starts. The last time came in 2007 and 2008 when both teams started 0-3. 
• No matter who the Elon's quarterback is, the favorite targets remain the same. Jordan Bonner leads the team with 11 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. Chandler Brayboy has 10 catches for 91 yards. Preseason All-CAA tight end and Dudley High School product Johncarlos Miller II has three receptions for 67 yards. 
• Jordan Hampton leads the running game with 166 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown. He was a 1,000-yard rusher a year ago. 

The Opposing Point of View:

"It's a great game for us, and it is going to become a rivalry. We are excited to have them (A&T) at home, and I know our fan base is excited to have them coming here. It is our home opener, and we are happy to be home after two tough games on the road for us. So, getting into conference play this week against A&T, it's a big week for us." 

Tony Trisciani

Elon head coach