Eleven-game win streak on the line as PC travels to Dayton - Flyers spring the upset

DAYTON, Ohio – The nation’s second-longest active winning streak will be put to the test on Saturday afternoon as the #16/19 Presbyterian College football team flies north to Dayton. Kickoff in a crucial PFL matchup is scheduled for 12:00 tomorrow.

One win away from becoming the first Blue Hose football team to make it to 8-0, head coach Steve Englehart’s bunch will search for their third consecutive win against Dayton after a three-touchdown W in Clinton last year and an overtime thriller in 2023.

Fans can view the action live on YouTube as PC continues its hot pursuit of a Pioneer League title, sporting a seven-game conference winning streak and recently making it past a full calendar year without losing to anyone.

Presbyterian must play on the road three more times in the ’25 regular season counting tomorrow. They haven’t been defeated in a road environment since October 12 of last year.

GAMEDAY CENTRAL

WHO: #16/19 Presbyterian (7-0, 3-0) at Dayton (5-2, 3-1)

WHERE: Welcome Stadium (Dayton, Ohio)

WHEN: Saturday, October 25 | 12:00 PM

FOLLOW THE ACTION

WATCH: YouTube

LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast

X (FORMERLY TWITTER): @BlueHoseFB

GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Dayton Notes | PFL Weekly Report

ANOTHER ONE BIT THE DUST

• In front of a record-setting audience of over seven thousand at Bailey Memorial Stadium, Presbyterian's Homecoming was a triumph as the Blue Hose soared to their 11th consecutive win. The defense blanked Stetson until the 4th quarter in a 42-7 decision.
• Sophomore bruiser Justin Montgomery found three touchdowns in the 35-point win, the first PC player to rush for a hat trick since 2017. The Scotsmen reached 440 yards of total offense and have tallied at least 40 points in all four of their home games this season.
• PC's current 11-game winning streak began against Stetson over 12 months ago, and the streak rolled on last weekend against the Hatters while senior Cincere Gill logged his second 100-yard effort of the year.
• Head coach Steve Englehart's gang has won their last six meetings when playing at home, the longest such streak that the program has seen since 2008.
• The Blue Hose are undefeated after seven games for the first time in 66 years and will roll into Dayton with wins against their last seven PFL opponents. It has been 371 days since they were last defeated.

ON THE DOORSTEP OF HISTORY

• A victory against the Flyers - hypothetically PC's third straight in this series - would break the school record for the greatest start to a season in school history.
• Presbyterian has fielded a football team every year since 1913, and only the 1959 squad managed to win its first seven games. Therefore, beating Dayton would give PC an 8-0 record for the first time ever.
• PC's year-long winning streak isn't the only statistic at stake. So too is their five-game streak of road wins, a number that only Harvard and Tennessee Tech can match at the FCS level.

HIGHER THAN EVER

• Following the Stetson blowout, the Blue Hose jumped up to #16 in the AFCA Coaches Poll while remaining at #19 in the Stats Perform FCS rankings.
• A three-spot increase in the former, Presbyterian becomes the first team from the Pioneer Football League to be ranked as high as #16 in the AFCA poll since all the way back in 2009.
• PC is one of just four PFL institutions to be ranked in both the AFCA & Stats Perform poll simultaneously (along with Dayton, San Diego, and Jacksonville).
• The Scotsmen are receiving 241 votes in the AFCA poll, 43 higher than also-unbeaten Harvard from the Ivy League.
• Elsewhere, they have collected 369 points in the Stats Perform rankings, 27 more than Northern Arizona for the #19 spot.

OPPONENT PROFILE

• One of four teams to join the Pioneer Football League in 1991 and remain with the conference to this day, Dayton hosts PC on the heels of a tight loss to Butler by six points.
• The Flyers had just one loss approaching the Butler contest, but could only scrounge up a field goal in the fourth quarter and wound up falling 23-17.
• Dayton's five-game winning streak was shelved as a result of last week's L, as they had been perfect in PFL play until then.
• Third-year head coach Trevor Andrews directed league victories against Stetson, Morehead State, and Valparaiso earlier this year, although he has yet to defeat the Blue Hose in two attempts.
• Flyer quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer holds quite an impressive feat through the first seven games of the season, yet to throw a single interception on 158 throws. He's tossed 16 touchdown passes (two behind PC QB Collin Hurst), and has been selected for PFL Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2025.
• Dayton's ground attack is one to watch out for, as the junior combination of Mason Hackett and Luke Hansen have both already hit the 1,000-yard mark in their careers.
• A casualty of Presbyterian's ongoing 11-game winning streak last November, Dayton came to Clinton and was promptly discarded 28-7.
• In 2023 (PC's last visit to Ohio), the Blue Hose nearly surrendered a 17-point fourth-quarter lead but recovered in overtime and nailed a 34-yard walk-off field goal in the pouring rain.

ELEVEN CONSECUTIVE

• Presbyterian stayed at the top of the FCS totem pole in the W over Stetson, boosting their remarkable winning streak to 11 games.
• PC has won in five different states during this 11-game winning streak, averaging 39 points per game along the way while giving up just 15 on the other side.
• Tennessee Tech is the only Division I school (FBS or FCS) to boast a longer active streak with 12 wins in a row.
• PC's 11 consecutive wins are tied with reigning national champions Ohio State and North Dakota State for the second-longest winning streak among the 265 schools who compete in D-I.
• The Memphis Tigers also kept them company in comparing winning streaks until a stunning upset at the hands of UAB last Saturday in Birmingham (31-24.)

ELITE EIGHT

• All eight undefeated FCS programs kept the status quo last week, as Presbyterian extends their residence at the top of the college football food chain.
• However, that number is guaranteed to dwindle thanks to a showdown in the Missouri Valley Conference when #1 North Dakota State visits second-ranked South Dakota State.
• Below is a list of the other seven unbeatens around the nation, and who they will face this weekend:

(Rankings reflect AFCA Coaches Poll)

- #1 North Dakota State @ #2 South Dakota State

- #3 Tarleton State (@ Eastern Kentucky)

- #4 Montana (@ Sacramento State) *FRIDAY NIGHT*

- #7 Lehigh (@ Fordham)

- #8 Tennessee Tech (vs Southeast Missouri State)

- #17 Harvard (@ Princeton)

CREAM OF THE CROP

• With the 2025 campaign over halfway gone, the Blue Hose lead the PFL and are near the top of numerous statistical categories nationwide:

(Rankings encompass all 129 FCS football teams)

- 7th in Points Per Game (41)

- 11th in Yards Per Completion (14)

- 12th in Total Yards Per Game (463)

- 14th in First Downs (164)

- Opposing quarterbacks have a combined QBR of 95.6 (that's the second-lowest in the nation, behind only Harvard)

- 3rd in Interceptions (10)

- 3rd in Fewest Points Allowed Per Game (13)

- 5th in Fewest Total Yards Allowed Per Game (272)

- 8th in Third-Down Defense (30%)

- 9th in Fewest Passing Yards Allowed Per Game (158)

- 16th in Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game (113)

(RB) ZACH SWITZER

- 4th in Total Touchdowns (11)

Eight Rushing, Three Receiving

- 5th in Yards Per Carry (7)

- 15th in All-Purpose Yards (877)

(QB) COLLIN HURST

- 4th in Quarterback Rating (179.6)

- 4th in Passing Touchdowns (18)

- 8th in Points Responsible For (122)

- 11th in Total Passing Yards (1,743)

DAYTON, Ohio – The #16/19 Presbyterian College football team’s undefeated record came to a halt on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Dayton, falling to the Flyers by a score of 35-19. It is PC’s first defeat in 171 days, stopping the nation’s second-longest winning streak at 11 games.

The Blue Hose couldn’t dig out of a 15-point second-quarter hole, limited to a single touchdown in the second half. Dayton outgained Presby by only 16 yards and had just one more first down, but capitalized on three PC turnovers while playing largely mistake-free themselves.

Head coach Steve Englehart’s crew had acquired seven straight PFL victories prior to Saturday, tying the program’s best-ever start to a season at 7-0. They are one of the final eight FCS teams to lose a game this year.

A return to Bailey Memorial Stadium is next on the cards for the Scotsmen, hosting Valparaiso on the first day of November. Kickoff in Clinton will take place at 1:00 and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

FINAL SCORE: Dayton, 35 - #16/19 Presbyterian, 19

RECORDS: #16/19 Presbyterian (7-1, 3-1)…Dayton (6-2, 4-1)

LOCATION: Welcome Stadium (Dayton, Ohio)

NOTABLES

- For the second consecutive outing, wide receiver Cincere Gill passed the century mark thanks mostly to a 72-yard touchdown reception on the second snap of the game.

- That’s his seventh TD of the campaign, tied for the fourth-most of any wideout at the FCS level.

- Nine different PC players gathered at least one tackle-for-a-loss against a rush-heavy offense, with senior lineman Robert Porter vacuuming two sacks.

- At the linebacker position, Michal Torres and Boyce Bankhead both reached 10 tackles. It’s the third straight double-digit tackling effort by the latter, including a career-high 14 in the road win over Butler.

- Safety Zeb Stroup logged his second interception of 2025 in the early moments of the second quarter. It’s the 11^th pick of the year by Presbyterian’s renowned defense, the third-most in America.

- Neither offense was particularly damaging on third-down, as PC and Dayton combined to go 5-for-23 in such scenarios. Time of possession was almost identical, with the Flyers having the edge there by 16 seconds.

HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF

- Quarterback Collin Hurst found a wide-open Gill just 41 seconds into the game, Presby’s second-longest passing play of the season only behind Nathan Levicki’s 75-yard game-winner at Butler.

- Most of the first quarter had a breakneck pace, as Dayton answered on their second series with a 79-yard touchdown rush around the far sideline.

- Presbyterian’s next drive lasted less than four minutes and ended in another trip to the end zone, using Levicki for a one-yard plunge with 3:33 still in the first frame.

- The ensuing PAT was blocked, making it 13-7 Blue Hose at the end of the first.

- Stroup’s tipped interception started off the second period, but a quick PC punt led to a 32-yard score from the Flyers that gave the home side their first lead of the contest.

- Dayton found the end zone again just five minutes later after a picked-off pass, this one from five yards out. The next PC drive ate up over five minutes but stalled around midfield, giving Dayton the window for a half-closing 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with six seconds on the clock.

- The 28-13 deficit was the first time that the Blue Hose were trailing at halftime in seven weeks (not happening since Furman, a game that PC came back to win in overtime).

HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF

- Getting the ball first to start the 3^rd, Dayton chewed up close to 10 minutes of time on 10 snaps but found zero points due to a third-down sack by Porter and Bankhead.

- However, a huge momentum-shift took place just three plays later in the form of a 20-yard pick six that gave the Scotsmen their largest deficit of the year (22 points).

- It was the first time that a PC opponent returned an INT for a touchdown since the Davidson game last season (14 months ago).

- With their backs against the wall, coach Englehart’s club managed to march 63 yards on 10 plays for a touchdown pass to Dominic Kibby at the 1:42 stamp of the 3^rd.

- Ahead by 16 with 15 minutes to go, Dayton tried to expand on their lead but missed a 41-yard field goal on the next trip.

- Neither team scored at any point in the last stanza, with PC’s final two series ending with an interception and a turnover on downs.

UP NEXT

- The Blue Hose will take on a struggling Valpo visitor next weekend, as the Beacons have taken seven losses in a row after winning their first bout against Virginia-Lynchburg.

- Valparaiso came up just short on Saturday versus Morehead State (the same team that PC pounded 41-0), losing to the Eagles 17-13. It was a defensive tug-of-war in Indiana, with no points scored over the final 28 minutes.

- This will be the first matchup between Presbyterian and Valpo since 2022, a 20-point Beacon win in Clinton.