The Presbyterian College football program, awaiting year #2 in the Steve Englehart era later this year, has divulged its 2023 fall schedule to include 11 games beginning on Saturday, September 2. Announced on Wednesday afternoon, the ’23 slate will feature five home events and six road contests, layered with the customary eight Pioneer Football League matchups.
“I am very excited about the opportunities we have presented to us for the 2023 season”, stated Englehart, poised for his 13th season as a head coach overall beside 71 total victories. “I continue to feel very optimistic on the progress that PC is making with this being my second year here. Additionally, we know a little bit more about our competition, with our schedule being made up of 11 extremely strong opponents”.
The Blue Hose will officially rake in their 111th season of competition on the second day of September in a road capacity, involved in a first-time-ever encounter against Murray State in Kentucky. The Racers progressed through a 2-9 mark last fall beside a 1-4 record in Ohio Valley Conference outings.
Downing Virginia University of Lynchburg in their Bailey Memorial Stadium opener last year, Presbyterian will again host the Dragons on September 9 to commemorate the second decade of regular season play at the facility. PC defeated their nonconference foe in 2022 by a 21-13 difference.
A September 16 visit to Wofford will designate the final pre-PFL bout on coach Englehart’s calendar to renew an in-state series dating back over 100 years, traveling to Spartanburg for the first time since 2018 to face a Terrier unit that placed a 3-5 SoCon resume last semester.
Following a week of rest before conference territory rears its head, the Blue Hose will embark on an eight-game sequence of never staying at home or on the road in consecutive weeks, kicking off PFL action at Butler on the final day of September. The two sides have never crossed paths since becoming league members, with PC opening their conference schedule against a Bulldog squad that finished in 4th place in the PFL last time out.
Presbyterian’s month-long absence from home will come to an end on October 7 in a hosting capacity versus Stetson, the same opponent that the Blue Hose closed the ’22 slate with in the Sunshine State. PC has published nine victories out of the 13 prior dates between the two clubs.
The second PFL road trip on October 14 involves another quest up north to battle Dayton, one of two adversaries on PC’s upcoming schedule to finish in the top three of last season’s conference standings. That mid-season duel will denote the third straight year of play against the Flyers after having never previously battled against them prior to 2021.
Flipping back to Bailey Memorial for conference contest #4, the Blue Hose will welcome Marist to Clinton on October 21 following a 4-4 PFL placement by the Red Foxes last year. A similar scenario to the Dayton matchup seven days preceding it, the bout will register as the third year in a row as opponents which had never previously seen each other before the turn of the decade. That contest will also declare Presbyterian’s 2023 Homecoming weekend.
With exactly half of the PFL lineup out of the way at this point, Presbyterian will await the 35th edition of the Carolina Border Clash on October 28, heading to Davidson for the Battle of the 1919 Cup. One of PC’s most historic rivalries, the hotly-anticipated meeting will feature a Wildcat team that ended 2022 as the conference’s automatic bid recipient to the FCS Playoffs.
The penultimate home game on the schedule will embroil a visitor from the western coast of the country, as the Blue Hose take on San Diego for the third time ever in Clinton on November 4. The Toreros posted a 4-3 record in league events last campaign, setting the stage for a rematch of PC’s inaugural California trip last year.
Just the second time facing off with one another since joining the PFL, November 11’s final road contest at Drake will return Presbyterian to Des Moines after a 28-24 Blue Hose victory two years back.
Closing the schedule on their own turf for the first time since 2019, a November 18 tussle with Morehead State will serve as the final chapter on Englehart’s second go-around as the program’s ringleader. The Bailey Memorial finale will signify the fourth all-time matchup against the Eagles.
SEASON TICKETS
Renewals for all season-ticket holders are now available. Desired new season-ticket purchasers will have access to 2023 tickets at a later date.
PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE
The 2023 season marks the 31st year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation's only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The winner of the PFL regular-season title earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs.
Schedule here.
