After dropping consecutive games to No. 3 Coastal Carolina University and No. 4 University of New Hampshire, the Elon University football team will travel to the University of Delaware Oct. 11 in search of its second win of the season.
Elon (1-4) scored just 17 points in its last two games, with 14 of those points coming on touchdowns scored against a reserve-heavy New Hampshire defense late in a blowout.
According to NCAA.com, the Phoenix has faced the fourth-toughest schedule in the Football Championship Subdivision thus far, with its five opponents combining for a record of 21-7.
Elon has without a doubt made a rough entrance into the CAA, but the opponents the Phoenix has faced serve as an example for where Elon wants to be one day.
Prior to the New Hampshire game, Elon head coach Rich Skrosky praised the consistency of the Wildcats, a team that has been a perennial contender under 16-year head coach Sean McDonnell.
Skrosky described a sequence in the game when New Hampshire had two dropped passes and an illegal formation penalty on the same drive.
“They just went on to the next play,” Skrosky said. “That’s the sign of a mature team and a confident team. Adversity is going to happen every game. The fact that we let the thing snowball is kind of indicative of where our maturity level is and our confidence level is and that’s something you have to work at each and every day.”
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Delaware (3-2) is another team that has a proven track record of success in the CAA, appearing in two FCS title games since 2007. The Blue Hens had won three straight games and jumped into the Top 25 before suffering a setback loss to Sacred Heart University at home Oct. 4.
Elon still has No. 10 College of William & Mary and No. 22 University of Richmond on the docket, as well as the University of Maine, Towson University and James Madison University, which all received votes in this week’s FCS poll. In fact, Stony Brook University, which will travel to Elon Oct. 18, is the Phoenix’s only remaining opponent that is not either ranked nor received votes in the poll.
Though Elon’s schedule includes many games against ranked teams, Skrosky said that a tough schedule can be good for a program.
“We’ve seen very good talent and that helps you prepare for the speed, prepare for the level of competition you’re going to play week in and week out because we know in this conference there’s not going to be that break,” he said.
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Skrosky compared the CAA now to the Southern Conference back when he coached at Elon from 2006-2010, when Georgia Southern University and Appalachian State University dominated the conference — and the nation.
“The difference in the CAA is the depth of the conference,” he said. “That’s the schedule we were dealt and the competition helps you [get used to] the speed and the athleticism that Delaware will present.”
Junior running back Tracey Coppedge echoed Skrosky’s thoughts, saying that the tough schedule to this point is something the Phoenix can build on.
“It’s going to help us against a lot of the teams we’ll be playing in the future because we’ve been to the bottom, we’ve been low,” Coppedge said. “We’ve played very good teams and been very close at times and then we’ve lost it throughout the game but I think it’s going to help us out by actually giving us a chance to fight back from adversity.”
The Blue Hens’ offense is engineered by senior quarterback Trent Hurley, a three-year starter. Hurley led the CAA in passer rating in 2013, but has struggled so far this season, throwing just five touchdowns to eight interceptions. In Delaware’s loss to Sacred Heart, Hurley went 21-for-34 for 196 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns.
The game, which is taking place on Delaware’s Family Weekend, will be played at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del., and is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m.
Notes: Redshirt freshman safety Chris Blair is listed as a starter over junior Miles Williams, who returned to practice this week after missing the last two games with a concussion. … Elon and Delaware are two of four FCS teams to have not lost a fumble this year. … Elon offensive coordinator Damian Wroblewski spent 2007-2011 on the staff at Delaware as offensive line coach. … Junior Thomas McGuire is listed as a starter at center for the second straight came over injured senior Austin Sowell.