At Gardner Webb

[phawkes]

Phoenix will have their hands full with GW.  Bulldogs fought hard against App last week.  We'll need defense to turn in another strong performance.  We'll need O-Line and running game to dominate.  Allen gets the start this week.  Hope he steps up.

This game will show how Phoenix will fare in FCS in 2023.

Go, Phoenix!

[eu96]

Not going to lie, really worried about the QB position.

[everelon]

We have to get the midget quarterback with the weak arm out of there. Put Langford in and live or die with him.

[everelon]

We will not beat many teams with this offense and this quarterback. Also the ol’ is not very good.

[eu96]

All three QB’s are no good. Lankford being the worst. Is it to late to hit the portal??? I hear Arch Manning isn’t happy…

[phawkes]

Downing . . . 'nuff said.

Go, Phoenix!

[euphoenix99]

Sept 9, 2023 20:27:10 GMT -5 phawkes said:

Downing . . . 'nuff said.

Go, Phoenix!

Unfortunately coaching staff didn't figure that out until halftime. Completely threw away an entire half. 41 yards of offense at the half.

Let's be honest, last year's team was a 6-5 team that had a couple miracle finishes to get to 8-3. They were given another gift tonight, but couldn't close it out.

Gardner-Webb was the better team. Was shocked they managed to tie it at 27 the way that game had gone.

Go Phoenix!

[fearthephoenix]

Morning everyone. I just got back home from the game yesterday and I will start by saying that I really hope that Elon keeps GW on their schedule because if the last two years are any indication, it is always going to be close.

My takeaways:

Ride or die with Downing at this point, but I think one of the disappointing things is that there seems to be a reliance on transfers instead of proper Quarterback development. Allen showed a lot of heart last week, but when you are skipping consecutive passes in the turf that are only a few yards away and you are a 5th year QB, that is a concern. The decision to keep him in for the entire first half was also something, especially when Downing was pulled before half v. Wake last week. I cannot remember a time when an Elon QB had less than 10 yards passing in a half, it was a frustrating performance to see live.

I was listening to Durham and Walker on the call while at the game and it was said so many times that the offense really clicks when it is a higher tempo. Just looking at the scoring drives, when the offense moves with pace, the weapons seem to be the most effective.

Very impressed with both kickers. Berkowicz (sp?) and Romenick have been stellar to start the season and hope they continue on that trend. However, sticking with Special Teams, someone needs to watch the film one on one Bo Sanders because he had some tough moments.

Our defense is solid, but they did a subpar job of covering the back or check down to the TE. Those plays went for 7-12 yards all night and no adjustment was made. I can expect a lot of offenses to go up tempo and throw check downs because it has simply been working.

Offensive play calling is maddening and confusing. The Will Lankford package was a rough experiment and the complete lack of utilization of our TE's is maddening because both Hardy and Miller are capable of serving as security blankets for the QB. However, they do not get used much. It was good to see Bonner start to get going and I hope he can continue to build from last night. Brayboy has to get rolling for this offense to really reach their potential.

Overall, tough loss. Hate being 0-2, but the non-conference slate is tough with a top-15 NCCU still on the schedule in a few weeks. This Saturday v. A&T is huge for a variety of reasons, but mostly, just playing 4 quarters of football. Hate to use "must win" during Week Three, but it is. Don't think I can make it, but I hope all who can enjoy it and Hall of Fame weekend. A long season to go and I hope the guys keep the faith.

[eu96]

Not for nothing, but it was nice to actually watch Elon on TV Sat night (ESPN+). Fans of both Big South and SoCon teams can watch almost every game on TV this season, but oh no, not us. Thanks to the CAA, we have to buy a bootleg package from something called FloSports, which apparently is as easy to find as plutonium and cost about as much. And the quality resembles 1980’s Romanian cable. This league…geez

[topher99]

While Flo does suck, the production quality is on each school.

[elonman]

Former Elon Assistant Coach Cris Reisert named HC coach at GW. Was 40-11 at Tiffin Univ.