ELON, N.C. – The late-game bruiser could continue in that role for James Madison.

Dukes freshman running back Latrele Palmer could avoid a redshirt, according to JMU coach Curt Cignetti.

“I’d say there’s a pretty good chance, but we’ll look at it tomorrow,” Cignetti said.

Palmer rushed for 78 yards on eight carries, earning all his touches in the second half. Palmer has played in three games through five weeks. His longest run Saturday went for 25 yards in Madison’s 45-10 win at Elon.

The 5-foot-11, 228-pounder overwhelmed a worn-down Phoenix defense with his strength.

“I think if you can have a big back fresh late in the game, that’s a huge advantage,” Cignetti said, “because they’re hard to tackle when everybody is fresh.”

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- JMU improved to 7-1 against Elon all-time. The lone loss to the Phoenix, of course, came last season in Harrisonburg. About bouncing back to beat Elon at Rhodes Stadium on Saturday, Dukes quarterback Ben DiNucci said: “Obviously, they came into our place last year and were able to do some things to us that we didn’t like and came out on top. But we tried to keep it simple this week and just focused on what we can control.”

- The Dukes’ 336 rushing yards were the most they’ve had in a game since rushing for 395 in last year’s regular-season finale at Towson.

- Madison cornerback Rashad Robinson’s interception of Elon quarterback Davis Cheek snapped Cheek’s interception-less streak at 240 consecutive passes. Robinson said defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman does a great job of emphasizing the importance of creating turnovers.

- In addition to the large rushing discrepancy, JMU was 8-of-13 on third down while Elon was 3-of-14 on third down. JMU entered Saturday with the seventh-best third-down defense nationally.

- About his return to Elon, Cignetti said it was great to see his former players. He said he was able to speak with a few of them after the game ended.

- The 11,926 that showed up at Rhodes Stadium was the third-largest crowd in the history of the building.