By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

In 21-14 loss at Richmond to start the season, William & Mary used three running backs — junior Owen Wright, sophomore Donavyn Lester, and true freshman Malachi Imoh. Together, they combined for 65 yards on 21 attempts — an average of 3.1 per carry.

What those numbers don't show is that the Tribe's offensive line was missing both starting guards — Dan Evers on the left side, Bart Francois on the right. Both are expected to play this week, which gives London reason to expect better production in Saturday's home game against Elon.

"We feel better about the opportunity to have a dedicated running game once again," W&M coach Mike London said. "It's always going to be critical to run the ball, control the clock, and have opportunities to be physical. We have a good offensive line when they're healthy, and that's the key.

"A few weeks ago, the whole offensive line could not practice because of different issues. Now, guys have gotten back from injuries, guys have gotten back from protocols and procedures, to be on the field. This week of preparation will be critical for us as well."

Wright and Lester, who combined for 855 yards and nine touchdowns in 2019, are proven commodities. And Imoh, who had a 39-yard gain at Richmond called back by a holding penalty, "can flat-out run," according to London.

Remember the last time W&M and Elon met?
It's rare to see a game in which two teams combine for 166 plays, 50 first downs, and nine missed field goals. It's even more rare to see a game that goes five overtimes.

Sixteen months ago, William & Mary defeated Elon 31-29 in the longest game (in terms of extra sessions) in CAA football history. It is the second-longest overtime game between two Championship Subdivision teams.

"The impact of that game, the emotional drain but the exhilaration of the win, our players had an opportunity to celebrate a close victory," said W&M coach Mike London, whose team is set to host Elon Saturday afternoon. "There's a whole bunch of things that go into that experience."

Prior to the 2019 season, college football's overtime procedure was changed so that if the game remained tied after four sessions, each team would line up from the 3-yard line for a 2-point conversion play. Owen Wright scored to give W&M a 31-29 lead, and the Tribe's defense got a stop for the win.

Such marathon, at least in number of plays, might be coming to an end. The NCAA rules committee has proposed that effective this fall, teams will begin alternating 2-point conversion attempts starting with the third overtime.

Looking at the Phoenix
True, Elon looked pretty bad with three turnovers in last week's 38-14 loss to Richmond. But the Phoenix looked pretty good a week earlier in a 20-17 loss to No. 1 James Madison, a game it led 17-3 midway through the third quarter.

Perhaps Elon's biggest issue has been the quarterback position, which was expected to be a strength with the return of senior Davis Cheek. But Cheek, who has started 29 games in his career, injured his foot in preseason and is not expected to play until the fall.

Joey Baughman started the first two games but injured his leg in the third quarter against Gardner-Webb. True freshman JR Martin has started the last two games but has completed only 18-of-40 passes. Justin Allen, a redshirt freshman, was 3-of-6 with two interceptions in relief against Richmond.

"They have a receiver set that's really good and can go make tough catches," London said. "They've had issues (at) quarterback, but if your quarterback can be in sync with the game plan … they're very, very capable because they have a skill set that allows them to do that."

This and that …
Off last weekend because of COVID-19 issues within James Madison's program, W&M treated it like a bye week. London said the team focused on itself before turning the page to Elon. "It allowed some guys who were nicked up a chance to heal and have a chance to play on Saturday." …

For what it's worth: W&M is 1-9 following open dates in the last 10 seasons. …

In the last three seasons, the Tribe is 10-3 in games in which it has scored at least 20 points. …

At least two of the five CAA games scheduled for Saturday have been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols — Richmond-JMU and Delaware-New Hampshire (issues within the Wildcats' program). As of Wednesday morning, Rhode Island-Albany and Maine-Stony Brook were still on.