To open the football season, the Elon University football team likes to schedule a tough game against a Football Bowl Subdivision team. Last season, it was Vanderbilt University. The year before, Duke University.

This year, the team is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels. Known in the state as “Carolina,” the Tar Heels are beginning the season with a new coach, Larry Fedora, and are under an NCAA suspension that will not allow them to play a bowl game this season. Accordingly, players are saying they are treating each game like a bowl game.

Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, where the game will be played, is just 39.4 miles east on Interstate 40 East, and the Tar Heels are the closest FBS team to the Phoenix.

See what Elon players and head coach Jason Swepson had to say about the matchup:

Senior linebacker Blake Thompson - Elkridge, Md.

I was watching them on film the other day. They look good, we look good, it will be a good game. A couple years ago, the mentality was, every game is a championship game, because in the SoCon, you can’t lay off any week. It’s great competition, week in and week out.

Junior safety Chandler Wrightenberry - Asheville, N.C.

Last year we came out to Vanderbilt and it was our first time on the big stage with our offensive and defensive schemes. Hopefully for Carolina, we’ll just come out and play the perfect game. It’s about ourselves, not across the other side of the ball. We want to be perfect with our plays, offense executing everything well and defense not having any mental errors.

Senior defensive lineman Olufemi Laminkanra - Talahasse, Fl.

It means a lot actually. It’s going to be a good start for our season, see where we’re at. Just go out there like it’s another game, prepare like it’s another game. It’s just how we go out and take into consideration the environment. If we just go out there and prepare like it’s a normal game, do our normal routine, I think we’ll do well. I’m a Florida State (University) fan. My sister went to Duke for undergrad, so I kinda cheered for their basketball team. Really Tallahassee, you’ve got to go with the ‘Noles.

Senior wide receiver Jeremy Peterson - Winston-Salem, N.C.

It’s a big game. It’s kind of like the big brother-little brother. We’re the closest FCS school to them. A bunch of the guys on this team are from North Carolina anyways.  It’s not really a home-welcoming. I feel like it’s going to be so much excitement because there’s a lot of people around this area. When you just think about it, you just hyped up, so ready to go, like, ‘Gosh, I can’t wait ‘til it gets here.’  (I’m a) Carolina (fan), but come Sept. 1, all that stops.

Senior wide receiver Aaron Mellette - Sanford, N.C.

I’m a Duke fan. I know the Duke nation’s going to be behind us. It’s a great opportunity, to get to play in-state, get some family and friends to get to come or even watch it on the ACC Network. Being a Duke fan does add some extra motivation because I’m not a Tar Heel fan at all.

Head coach Jason Swepson

It’s more about the team and their memory, playing against Carolina and things like this. Some of these guys have eleven games left in their career and that’s it. I’m going to  try to make it a positive (experience), especially the week leading up to the game, the Thursday and Friday, Saturday pre-game, it’s all going to be about the team and about their experience and their memory. Our job as coaches is to make it a positive experience, take it one quarter at a time, one half at a time. We want to be in the game after the first quarter, after the second quarter. You want to be able to give a halftime speech where it’s meaningful, where you’re still competing. And then, kind of like Vanderbilt, get to the fourth quarter and see what happens. I think if we keep that approach, when the game’s over, we’ll look up at the scoreboard and I think we’ll like what we see.

Senior quarterback Thomas Wilson - Raleigh, N.C.

I grew up a Carolina fan. I’m excited. The first time I heard we were opening up against Chapel Hill, the first thing I did was call my dad (who graduated from UNC). I think he’s a little more excited than I am, to tell you the truth. It will be a special day for me. We can’t look at Carolina as a team who’s having trouble off the field academically or whatever they’ve been going through. We need to look at them as a Div.-1, ACC opponent, who’s going to come out there ready to play. We’ve got to bring our A-game and hopefully we’ll be able to go out there and steal one from them. (To win) would be pretty special. For me, as an individual, the football team and the university as a whole, it would be something special considering we usually play a big team like this every year our first game. Carolina being one this year, right down the road. It would mean a lot to this university if we could go in there and win that one.

[box]Sneak a Peek Get an in-depth look at the 2012 Elon football schedule here.[divider_flat] [/box]