The Presbyterian College football team looks to steer the ship back in the right direction on Saturday afternoon following their first loss in over a full calendar year, entertaining Valparaiso at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
Kickoff in Clinton will take place at one o’clock and will be streamed live via ESPN+. Presby currently sits at 7-1 and will aim for their seventh straight W when competing at home.
Tomorrow is Military and First Responders Appreciation Day. Miniature American flags will be distributed to the first 500 fans in attendance.
WPCC (96.5 FM, 1410 AM) will be broadcasting live at the tailgating area from 10:00 AM leading up until kickoff. Select PC coaches will be interviewed from this location, including Steve Englehart.
Inside the stadium, there will be numerous food trucks that will begin serving at 11:30 AM: Sweet Icy Delights, Beat the Heat Lemonade, The Dial Company, Mrs. V’s Southern Kitchen, and Chick-Fil-A.
The race for the Pioneer Football League championship (and the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs that comes with it) is heating up with four games left. Drake is the only team in the PFL without a conference loss, while PC, Dayton, and Butler all have just one each.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: #22/25 Presbyterian (7-1, 3-1) vs. Valparaiso (1-7, 0-4)
WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium | Clinton, S.C.
WHEN: Saturday, November 1 | 1:00 PM
ADMISSION: BlueHoseTix.com
GAMEDAY PROTOCOL: Stadium Policies & Map
FLIP CARDS: Sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union
CLEAR BAG POLICY: Handbag Code
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+ (Gabriel Schray & Tim Webb)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
X (FORMERLY TWITTER): @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Valparaiso Notes | PFL Weekly Report
BEST START SINCE ‘59
• Presbyterian is off to its best eight-game record in 66 years, sporting a 7-1 resume which has not been seen by the program since 1959.
• The Blue Hose were a single win away from setting a new school record for greatest start to a season all-time, but fell short of that goal with a 35-19 defeat at Dayton last Saturday.
• Regardless of that result in Ohio, Presbyterian still controls their own destiny in a conference that has no clear front-runner with four games remaining.
• Head coach Steve Englehart's crew had won five straight road games before dropping the Dayton bout, a number that was tied with Harvard for the longest road winning streak in FCS.
• PC's 7-0 start included consecutive wins over #11 Mercer and Furman (the last two SoCon champions), a 41-0 blowout over Morehead State in the PFL opener, and a 31-25 classic at Butler.
• The Scotsmen saw their seven-game conference winning streak come to an end against Dayton, their first loss in 171 days.
RANKINGS UPDATE
• Presbyterian remains ranked in both the AFCA Coaches Poll (#22) and the FCS Stats Perform Poll (#25), the first team from the Pioneer Football League to be included in both rankings simultaneously since 2018.
• Coach Englehart's squad had reached as high as #16 in the AFCA Poll prior to the Dayton loss. That's the highest that any PFL school had gotten since 2009.
• PC is receiving 99 points in the AFCA rankings, which is 10 better than Stephen F. Austin and nine fewer than #21 Northern Arizona.
• In the Stats Perform Poll, the Blue Hose are receiving 107 points and are ahead of 13 other schools that are collecting at least one vote.
OPPONENT PROFILE
• One of five Pioneer League institutions with a first-year head coach, Andy Waddle has been forced to navigate some rough waters in his debut year at Valparaiso.
• The Beacons own the longest active losing streak in the conference (seven games), not tasting a W since the opening weekend against Virginia-Lynchburg.
• Valpo has gone up against some of the best that the PFL has to offer, with PC being their third opponent that has one loss or fewer in conference competition.
• It was an offensive hassle when the Beacons took the field last week, hosting Morehead State and falling short 17-13. After MSU took the lead early in the 3rd, neither team scored at all over the last 28 minutes of action.
• Valparaiso has been held to less than 20 points in five consecutive attempts as Waddle looks to rebuild, unsuccessful on the road in four tries this year.
• Presbyterian has gone up against Valpo twice since joining the PFL in 2020, with this being the first matchup between the two in three years.
• The Beacons came to Clinton in Englehart's first campaign and walked away with a 41-21 victory back in 2022. PC was outscored 27-0 in the second half on that day, although Valpo is a mere 10-27 since that afternoon at Bailey Stadium.
ELEVEN IN A ROW
• At the time of PC's loss to Dayton, their 11-game winning streak was the same length as both national champions in Division I: Ohio State and North Dakota State.
• Far and away the longest winning streak in program history, the Blue Hose managed to go over an entire calendar year with only W's. This includes the last four games of 2024 and the first seven of this ongoing campaign.
• The Blue Hose averaged 39 points per game over the course of that 11-game streak, giving up just 15 per game on the other end.
• Presby won in five different states as they quickly rose up the FCS ladder, one of only eight teams in the country who were undefeated going into Week 9.
• PC became the last unbeaten Division I college in the entire state of South Carolina, lasting longer than three FBS teams in the Palmetto and five others at the FCS level.
PARTY LIKE IT’S ‘99
• A win against Valparaiso would denote Presbyterian's seventh consecutive victory at Bailey Memorial Stadium. PC has not won seven straight in Clinton this century, last accomplishing that feat in 1999.
• The last time that the Blue Hose went a full season without losing at home was their first year as a Division I program: 2007 (three games).
• Only Valpo and Marist stand in the way of PC's first undefeated home record with at least six games since 1998.
• PC's previous six home victories (listed in order of most recent):
- Def. Stetson, 42-7 (Oct. 18, 2025)
- Def. Morehead State, 41-0 (Sep. 27, 2025)
- Def. Bluefield, 76-3 (Sep. 20, 2025)
- Def. Erskine, 42-14 (Sep. 13, 2025)
- Def. #23 Butler, 30-27 (Nov. 23, 2024)
- Def. Dayton, 28-7 (Nov. 2, 2024)
FURIOUS DEFENSE
• A huge factor in PC's fantastic start has been the play of their experienced and deep defensive class. They are allowing the seventh-lowest points-per-game total in America (16).
• Quarterbacks that go up against the Blue Hose defense often have a rough afternoon. Over eight games, PC's opponents have a combined QB efficiency rating of 98.8. That is the second-lowest number in all of FCS, trailing only Tarleton State.
• Defensive Coordinator Dan Owen's unit has compiled 11 interceptions already, the fourth-most in the nation. Opponents have successfully moved the chains just 30 percent of the time against the Blue Hose, good for 6th in FCS.
• It took Presbyterian's opponents six whole games to muster up a single point in the 4th quarter. Furthermore, no one scored a 4th-quarter touchdown versus PC until their seventh appearance (which was already a 35-0 differential against Stetson when it happened).
• PC has tallied 51 tackles for a loss and 17 sacks, led by senior linebacker Boyce Bankhead's 65 stops.
• All-conference honoree Caleb Francis has picked off four passes in 2025, thus becoming Presby's D-I-era leader (nine INT's for his career).
IN HURST WE TRUST
• The reigning PFL Offensive Freshman of the Year and a Jerry Rice Award finalist, second-year quarterback Collin Hurst has delivered exceptional statistics to aid PC's newsworthy season.
• Hurst ranks sixth among the 129 FCS starters with 20 touchdown passes on the year. He is responsible for 134 total points, the eighth most in America.
• His QB efficiency calculator comes out to 175.2, which ranks ninth nationally. He comes into the Valpo matchup needing just 42 passing yards to reach 2,000 for the season.
• A native of Florida, Hurst has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 10 straight outings. He tossed a career-high five TD's in an overtime barnburner at Furman earlier this year.
• Hurst has minimized mistakes during his time under center, ending the 2024 season without an interception in 135 consecutive passes.
• Collin had another long streak of zero turnovers earlier this year, throwing 98 passes in a row without committing an INT.
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
• Presbyterian has featured a two-headed monster in the backfield to help them score 38 points per game, leaning on the talents of RB's Zach Switzer and Justin Montgomery.
• Those two have synced up for 1,113 rushing yards plus an additional 247 in the passing attack.
• Switzer and Montgomery have combined for 17 touchdowns at this stage of the season, with the former ranking 12th in the nation for all-purpose yards (1,012).
• Those two both surpassed the century mark in the PFL opener against Morehead State, while Montgomery became the first PC player since 2017 to score three rushing touchdowns in a single game versus Stetson.
PC 43, Valpo 14
The #22/25 Presbyterian College football team has achieved an 8-1 record for the third time in school history, rolling past Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium 43-14.
Redshirt-sophomore Collin Hurst completed 81 percent of his passes and threw for 278 yards. Both of his touchdown tosses came to Dominic Kibby, while other highlights included a 22-yard scoop and score by linebacker Michael Torres.
The Blue Hose defense was spectacular as head coach Steve Englehart’s group rebounded from their first loss of 2025 last week, holding the Beacons to 39 yards of total offense throughout the opening half.
Presbyterian has earned the victory in seven consecutive home games, a stretch that goes a full 12 months back. PC has eclipsed 40 points in all five meetings at Bailey Memorial Stadium this year.
Still in the hunt for the Pioneer Football League championship with three games left on the schedule, the Scotsmen will turn their attention to Davidson in the Battle for the 1919 Cup next weekend.
FINAL SCORE: #22/25 Presbyterian, 43 – Valparaiso, 14
RECORDS: #22/25 Presbyterian (8-1, 4-1) – Valparaiso (1-8, 0-5)
LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
PARTY LIKE IT’S ‘99
- It has been 26 years since the Blue Hose last witnessed a seven-game home winning streak, stacking up 450 total yards and pitching a first-half shutout.
- This is the first time in the 21st century that PC has taken seven consecutive home wins. Should they defeat Marist in the regular season finale later this month, it will be their first time since 1998 with a perfect home record (minimum of six games).
- Coach Englehart’s club has won by an average of 33 points during this Clinton streak. PC improves to 12-1 in their last 13 games, the best record of anyone in the PFL during that period.
LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD
- The Blue Hose were relentless in their pursuit of Valpo quarterback Rowan Keefe, sacking him five times and piling up 12 tackles for a loss.
- Senior edge rusher Malek Horlback logged 2.5 TFL’s and a sack that pushed the Beacons back 23 yards. Dalton Epps added another big sack in the 4th, enough to force a fumble that Torres recovered into the end zone.
- Already a defense that has the fourth-most interceptions in America (11), Presbyterian punched the ball out three separate times on Saturday and did not allow a first down until the second quarter.
FIFTEEN ACROSS THE GOAL LINE
- Thanks to Torres’ defensive touchdown and a 1st-quarter rush by freshman Darriel Harper for six points, the Blue Hose can now say that 15 different players on their roster have scored at least one TD this year.
- Ty Englehart had a multi-faceted afternoon on the stat-sheet, throwing a touchdown pass to Hurst on a trick play in the 2nd quarter and also powering up the middle for a 20-yard rushing score in the 4th.
- Becoming PC’s D-I record-holder for career touchdowns as a junior last year, Kibby tightened his grip on that record with two more TD’s against Valpo. Both were in the red zone, giving him 19 scores over a remarkable college tenure.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
- Presbyterian dominated the first 15 minutes, going on two touchdown drives of over 60 yards and outgaining the Beacons by 151 in that window.
- Harper and Kibby were responsible for those scores as PC scattered nine plays of at least six yards in the opening chapter.
- The Blue Hose had already accomplished nine first downs before Valparaiso managed to move the chains for the first time. In the first 30 minutes of play, Presby had pushed the Beacons backward in the rushing department (negative 16 yards).
- It took Valpo seven rushing attempts before they gained greater than two yards. In seven drives, the visitors never advanced past midfield.
- Jett Jackson’s sixth field goal of the fall put PC ahead by 16 points, and that lead snowballed to 23 on the trick play where Hurst played makeshift receiver.
- Horlback set up his offensive comrades at the 12-yard line with a strip-sack of Keefe, settling the halftime advantage at 23-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
- Valparaiso managed to get some life with a 49-yard pickup on the first snap of the 3rd, but the drive stalled later thanks to a missed field goal from 27 yards away.
- Still chasing potentially their second shutout of the season, the Blue Hose went ahead 30-0 on a dime from Hurst to Kibby in the back corner of the end zone. That capped off their longest drive of the day, a 14-play sequence that covered 80 yards and nearly seven minutes.
- Englehart’s second rushing touchdown of the year made it 37-7 Presbyterian, rubbing salt in the wound with the scoop and score at the 12:35 stamp of the 4th.
- The Beacons managed one final TD with 40 ticks left on the clock, but it was far too little too late for a team that has now lost eight consecutive contests.
UP NEXT
- Presbyterian will make their shortest road trip in conference play on November 8, facing another struggling opponent with a rivalry trophy at stake.
- PC visits Davidson with the Wildcats on a five-game losing streak, as they just took a tough defeat to Morehead State on Saturday. MSU came back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, winning the game with 1:06 remaining on a short touchdown pass.
- Dubbed the “Carolina Border Clash”, the Blue Hose first met Davidson in 1919 and have quickly become one of their fiercest rivals. Presby was due to host the Wildcats last year until Hurricane Helene hit, moving the location of that game to North Carolina where Davidson won a high-octane affair 48-37.
- Kickoff next week will take place at 1:00 PM.
