ELON, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2024) – After back-to-back home games, the ETSU football team will head out on the road for its final non-conference game of the regular season on Saturday when it visits Elon. Kickoff between the Buccaneers and Phoenix is set for 6 p.m.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Elon, N.C. | Rhodes Stadium
Teams: (RV) ETSU (1-2) at (RV) Elon (1-2)
Weather:  80° | Mostly Sunny | Winds: SSW 6 mph
Live Video: FloFootball ($)
TV Crew: Taylor Durham (pbp), Khirey Walker (analyst) 
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | HD radio can listen on 101.5 WQUT HD-2
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Robert Harper (analyst), Michael White (sideline), Don Helman (stats)
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (StatBroadcast)
X: @ETSUFootball
 
THINGS TO KNOW – Please click HERE for all the "Things to Know" for Saturday's clash with Elon, presented by Citizens Bank.

LAST TIME OUT - ETSU dropped a heartbreaking game to No. 2 North Dakota State on Saturday night by a score of 38-35. With Saturday's loss, the Bucs move to 1-2 on the season.

BRYSON BREAKS OUT WITH CAREER DAY VS. BISON - Bryson Irby, who wasn't tackled behind the line of scrimmage in his 15 carries on Saturday, rushed for a career high 147 yards and three touchdowns. Irby tied his career mark with the three rushing touchdowns as he also accomplished the feat last season at Samford. Irby also eclipsed 1,000 career rushing yards on Saturday. After his performance against NDSU, Irby is now the SoCon's leading rusher with 258 yards this fall. Furthermore, ETSU's senior running back paces the conference averaging 7.59 yards per carry.

LOOKING FOR SUCCESS AWAY FROM JOHNSON CITY - Looking forward to Saturday's clash vs. Elon, the Bucs are looking to snap a 10-game road losing streak. The last time ETSU won a game away from Johnson City was on October 8, 2022 vs. VMI (44-21).

LONG TIME, NO SEE - ETSU and Elon were briefly members of the SoCon at the same time in the early 2000s. The Bucs have won two of the three previous all-time matchups by scores of 35-16 (1997) and 31-15 (2002) in Johnson City. The Phoenix, however, won the lone matchup against the Bucs contested on their home field as they blanked the Bucs, 14-0, in 2003.

RARE REDZONE NUMBERS - ETSU continues to play well when its offense is in the redzone. The Bucs went a perfect 4-for-4 in the redzone on Saturday vs. NDSU to remain perfect on the season (12-for-12). ETSU is one of 20 programs in the FCS that have scored in every possession that has reached the redzone.

RUN BUCS RUN - The Buccaneers totaled 270 rushing yards against the Bison on Saturday. ETSU's 270 rushing yards were the most allowed by an NDSU team in the regular season since April 17, 2021 when South Dakota State ran for 305 yards. The Bucs have rushed for over 180 yards in every game this season. The Buccaneer rushers have averaged a SoCon-best 235.7 yards on the ground this season. Nationally, ETSU's rushing average ranks seventh.

TIP OF THE HAT TO THE OFFENSE - After scoring 96 points in the past two games, ETSU has taken over the top spot in the conference in terms of scoring offense (35.3 PPG). This scoring average is nearly double what the Bucs averaged on the scoreboard in 2023 (18.18 PPG). The Bucs are also the SoCon leaders in total offense (434.0 yards per game) that also ranks 12th nationally.

PROTECTING THE BALL - ETSU turned the ball over for the first time in 2024 with an interception in the last minute on Saturday vs. NDSU. The Bucs are one of 16 FCS programs to turn the ball over one or fewer times this season.

CAM NEAR THE TOP OF NATIONAL LEADERBOARD - Entering Saturday's game with Elon, Cam Sims ranks fifth nationally averaging 1.7 pass breakups per game. Overall, Sims paces all Buccaneer defenders with five passes broken up.

BUCS VS. THE CAA - The Bucs don't have a ton of games against current members of the CAA. Elon is the most common opponent (2-1). Overall, ETSU is 4-2 against the current members of the CAA.

BUCS AMONG ACTIVE FCS LEADERS - The Bucs have a pair of players that rank among highly among active FCS players. William McRainey is third among active players with 350 tackles, while Nate Brackett is fourth in punting average (42.3 yards per punt).

ABOUT THE PHOENIX - Elon enters Saturday's game with ETSU sporting a 1-2 record. The Phoenix knocked off North Carolina Central (41-19) in week two with their two losses coming against Duke (26-3) in their season opener and to fellow SoCon foe Western Carolina (24-17) on Saturday. Elon is under the direction of Head Coach Tony Trisciani. Trisciani is a coaching veteran as 2024 is his 29th year as a coach and his 19th at a CAA Football institution. Since his return to Elon in 2017, he has helped the program defeat 15 FCS Top 25 programs. As head coach, he has notched nine wins over ranked teams, with at least two wins against ranked teams in each of his fall campaigns as a head coach. Elon was picked to finish sixth in the CAA by the coaches in the 2024 preseason poll despite returning 14 starters (second-most in the league) after a fourth place finish a year ago after going 6-2 in league play.

For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.