Arguably one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
James Madison hadn’t lost to an FCS team not named North Dakota State since 2015.
Elon made the playoffs in 2017 and ranked No. 10 in the FCS heading into Saturday, but doesn’t have a whole lot of championship football history otherwise.
FCS No. 2 JMU entered kickoff favored by as many as 39.5 points (or around 28, at some books, but still), and yet:
19 straight wins at home ❌
— Elon Football (@ElonFootball) October 6, 2018
20 straight CAA wins ❌
Streaking no more! No. 9 ELON TAKES DOWN No. 2 JAMES MADISON!#FindTheEdge#CAAFBpic.twitter.com/D86wh9GuK1
There's your ballgame. A pair of incredible plays in the red-zone by #Elon lift the Phoenix over the Dukes. JMU's loss is its first at home in its last 23 games against conference opponents. #CAAFBpic.twitter.com/0ulZQqgXFE
— James Faris (@JFarisSports) October 6, 2018
The final score: Elon 27, James Madison 24.
That 39.5-point mark would stand as one of the biggest point spread upsets in football history at any level, perhaps topped only by 2017’s Howard win over UNLV, a 45-pointer, and — depending on the book — Stanford’s 2007 win over USC.
The Dukes turned the ball over twice, to the Phoenix’s none. Elon was more efficient through the air and on the ground, going for 498 total yards to JMU’s 419.
And now get a load of these standings in the CAA:
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ESPN