On the hunt for a win that would tie the longest active winning streak at either the FCS or FBS level, the Presbyterian College football team welcomes Bluefield to Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Kickoff will take place at 1:00 (streaming live on ESPN+), as PC aims to win their fourth straight at home for the first time in 13 years and simultaneously start a season 4-0 for the first time since 1959.
One couldn’t dream up a better start to 2025 for head coach Steve Englehart’s gang, winning their sixth consecutive home opener last weekend versus Erskine (42-14) and on the brink of being accepted into the FCS Top 25.
Presby hopes to build off their 545-yard effort in last Saturday’s victory, with tomorrow’s tussle being the last non-conference meeting of the regular season. This is the second of a three-game homestand, as PC finishes that stretch on the 27th against Morehead State.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: (RV) Presbyterian (3-0) vs. Bluefield (1-1)
WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
WHEN: Saturday, September 20 | 1:00 PM
ADMISSION: BlueHoseTix.com
GAMEDAY PROTOCOL: Bailey Memorial 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: StatBroadcast
TWITTER / X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | PFL Weekly Report
PERFECT AFTER THREE
• The Blue Hose have checked off a box that no PC team has been able to since 2005: begin a season with a record of 3-0. Presbyterian reached that mark last weekend by rolling past Erskine in the home opener, flustering the Fleet by 28 points.
• Led by quarterback and PFL Offensive Player of the Week Collin Hurst (16-for-22, 343 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions), the Blue Hose wrangled in at least 35 first-half points for the third time since the start of last season.
• PC accumulated over 500 yards of total offense for the third time in head coach Steve Englehart's tenure, widening the margin of victory by only giving up one offensive score all night.
• Presby extends their decades-long winning streak over Erskine to 12 games. That's their best current streak against any school that they've played. (PC is 31-2-1 all-time in that in-state series).
• This is the first time in 20 years (and the first time since PC made the Division I leap) that the Scotsmen are undefeated after three games. It is the second time this century that the Blue Hose have started 3-0, featuring other noteworthy victories over then-#11 Mercer and Furman on the road.
WHAT A WIN WOULD MEAN…
• Should PC defeat Bluefield this afternoon, they will become just the second team in school history to begin a season at four wins without a loss. The 1959 team is the only other instance where PC started at 4-0.
• Beyond that, coach Englehart's camp has the opportunity to win four straight home games for the first time since 2011-12. Along with the aforementioned Erskine win, PC also bested Dayton and #23 Butler in their final two games at Bailey Memorial Stadium last fall.
• By gaining the W last weekend, PC has won its home opener in six consecutive seasons. That is a new all-time school record, beating out the mark of five straight that was established from 1964-68.
LONGEST WIN STREAK IN AMERICA?
• Approaching this weekend, Presbyterian is in a tie with defending national champion and current #1 team North Dakota State for the second-longest winning streak among all 128 FCS football programs (seven games).
• NDSU is idle in Week 4, as is #12 Tennessee Tech (the only FCS school with a longer winning streak than the Blue Hose at the moment).
• Taking things a step further, there are only three FBS schools (out of a list of 136) who come into Week 4 with a seven-game winning streak. One of those teams is top-ranked Ohio State, who is also in their BYE.
• The others:
- #9 Illinois Fighting Illini
- Memphis Tigers
• Therefore...with a PC victory, plus two losses by Memphis (at Arkansas) and Illinois (at Indiana), the Blue Hose would guarantee a tie with Tennessee Tech for the longest winning streak at either the FCS or FBS levels.
THE ONLY ONE IN S.C.
• Due to the South Carolina Gamecocks taking their first defeat of 2025 at the hands of Vanderbilt last weekend, Presbyterian is now the only Division I institution in the entire state that is still undefeated.
• Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Furman, Charleston Southern, Wofford, and South Carolina State have also eaten at least one L already, leaving the Blue Hose as the pride of the Palmetto.
• There are only three other schools in South Carolina who remain unbeaten, each of which reside at the NCAA Division II ranks:
- Anderson (@ Mars Hill)
- Newberry (vs Catawba)
- Benedict (def. Tuskegee, 45-24)
THE UNDEFEATED CLUB
• The number of undefeated FCS programs dropped from 18 to 10 after the dust settled last Saturday. Presbyterian is the only team in the Pioneer Football League without a loss, following Drake's defeat at #2 South Dakota State.
• Below is a list of the other nine unbeatens around the nation, and who they will face this weekend:
- #1 North Dakota State (BYE)
- #2 South Dakota State (BYE)
- #3 Tarleton State (vs Chattanooga)
- #5 Montana (vs Indiana State)
- #6 Rhode Island (vs Long Island)
- #10 Lehigh (@ Bucknell)
- #12 Tennessee Tech (BYE)
- UT-RGV (vs Texas Wesleyan)
- West Georgia (vs Eastern Kentucky)
• The eight schools that comprise the Ivy League will all begin their 2025 seasons this weekend, potentially adding to the list of undefeated FCS squads. Those matchups are displayed below:
- Brown (vs Georgetown)
- Columbia (@ Lafayette - Friday)
- Cornell (@ Albany)
- Dartmouth (@ #23 New Hampshire)
- Harvard (@ Stetson)
- Penn (@ Stonehill)
- Princeton (vs San Diego)
- Yale (vs Holy Cross)
ON THE CUSP OF TOP 25
• The AFCA Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform Top 25 are the most widely-recognized ranking systems for FCS football programs. Presbyterian is "receiving votes" by both publications, nearly a fully-fledged Top 25 crew.
• In the Stats Perform list, the Blue Hose are receiving the most votes of any team not in the Top 25 (83 votes). That's 20 votes more than who's next in line: Mercer.
• Meanwhile, coach Englehart's troops are receiving 40 votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll, placing them narrowly behind Lamar and West Georgia.
• Should the Blue Hose complete the challenge of being in the Top 25, they would do so for the first time since taking the jump to Division I in 2007.
OPPONENT PROFILE
• Serving the Appalachian Athletic Conference since 2000 and a member of NAIA, Bluefield comes to Bailey Memorial Stadium for the third time after previous visits in 2014 and 2018.
• Bluefield's defense took a major hit in their most recent affair, a 66-12 smashing against the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.
• The Rams surrendered 25 second-quarter points and 28 more in the third period, giving up nearly 600 yards of total offense and eight touchdowns (plus, they were also on the receiving end of a pick six).
• Following an 8-3 record in 2022, Bluefield and head coach Dewey Lusk have managed back-to-back five-win seasons. The Rams were 3-3 in road matchups a year ago.
• Presbyterian has won its only two games against Bluefield by lopsided margins, dropping 69 points in the 2014 bout and winning 41-10 in the two schools' last encounter seven years ago.
GAME RESULT:
CLINTON, S.C. – Another program landmark has been achieved by the Presbyterian College football team as they extended the nation’s best winning streak to eight games, incinerating Bluefield on Saturday afternoon by a final margin of 76-3.
Eclipsing 500 total yards for the second straight weekend and scoring points of some variety in each of their first 10 possessions, the Blue Hose are now undefeated after four games for the second time in school history and the first time since 1959.
A performance so dominant that the entire second half was played with 12-minute quarters, PC’s 76-point tally is their most in the Steve Englehart era (2022 onward).
Beyond that, Saturday was Presbyterian’s third-highest-scoring game in over a hundred years, trailing only an 84-point effort in 2021 and the school-record 104 points in 1914.
No matter what else happens around the country in week four, the Scotsmen have now guaranteed a share of the longest winning streak in all of Division I college football (FBS or FCS).
Coach Englehart’s troops will wrap up a three-game homestand next weekend with a chance to get to 5-0, welcoming Morehead State for another 1:00 PM kickoff on ESPN+.
FINAL SCORE – Presbyterian, 76 – Bluefield, 3
RECORDS – Presbyterian (4-0) – Bluefield (1-2)
LOCATION – Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
PROTECTING THE FORT
- This was PC’s fourth consecutive win at Bailey Memorial dating back to last fall, the school’s longest home streak since 2011-12. They left no doubt in the outcome, producing 27 first-quarter points and 30 more in the second stanza.
- With defending FCS national champion North Dakota State and Tennessee Tech both undergoing a BYE week, PC matches TTU for the best current overall win streak of the 128 teams who compete at the FCS level.
SPEED DEMONS
- After only 30 minutes, the Blue Hose had already calculated the following statistics:
- PC averaged just three snaps per touchdown drive in the first two quarters. Altogether, the Blue Hose distributed 10 TD’s from eight different players.
- Two of Presby’s scoring series were a single play, finding the end zone on a 33-yard catch by Deverious Abercrombie (making his first appearance of the season overcoming injury) and a career-long 61-yard rush by Justin Montgomery.
- Included among the offensive fireworks were the first individual touchdowns in the college careers of Chris Vickerson, Garrison Curry, and Jalen Patrick.
HURST DOING HURST THINGS
- Sitting out the entire second half on account of the blowout, reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Week Collin Hurst threw with surgical precision. He completed all but three of his 18 passes for four touchdowns and 287 yards after just two quarters.
- That was more than good enough for his fifth career game with over 70 percent accuracy, bringing his season total to 1,184 passing yards and 13 TD’s.
- Hurst’s first completion of the day was a 49-yard score to senior Cincere Gill, going on to hit his target on the last nine tries and even adding a 26-yard rushing touchdown for good measure.
FRANCIS TIES THE RECORD
- By pulling in his second interception of the season and the seventh of his career late in the opening quarter, senior cornerback Caleb Francis has tied Big South Hall of Famer Justin Bethel (2008-11) and Ed Britt (2012-15) for the most in PC’s Division I era.
- Presbyterian capitalized on Francis’ pick by scoring on the next snap. The Jacksonville native was part of a PC secondary that held the Rams to a mere 85 passing yards, allowing just four first downs over the course of the opening half.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
- Eleven different Blue Hose receivers caught a pass during Saturday’s smashing, while 34 defensive players recorded at least one tackle.
- In only four minutes, PC had already leaped to a 13-0 edge thanks to Gill and Hurst’s touchdowns. Zach Switzer – who saw three TD’s by himself in the first two quarters – made it 20-0 from 19 yards out.
- Abercrombie’s first grab of 2025 was a wide-open touchdown that came 24 seconds after Francis’ INT, and the train was just beginning to roll.
- Peter Lipscombe connected on a short field goal with 90 seconds gone in the next frame, increasing the Bluefield deficit to 30.
- Montgomery’s touchdown at the 11:25 stamp was Presby’s longest play of the season thus far, and after the Rams mustered their only points of the day in the next drive (a 21-yard field goal), Switzer’s second score of the half pushed the lead to 40 points.
- The Blue Hose were responsible for the last 21 points of the second quarter, going up 57-3 courtesy of Vickerson and then Switzer completing the hat trick with 30 ticks left on the clock.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
- Bluefield’s misery continued on the first play from scrimmage in quarter number three, with Dalton Epps pawing a QB fumble that was then paid off with a 22-yard touchdown strike by Ty Englehart to Patrick.
- Following a third-down sack by Epps and Cade Lewis that thwarted the Rams’ next series, PC collected two more points on a botched punt that was hurriedly kicked through the end zone for a safety.
- Now in front 66-3, the Blue Hose assembled their final 10 points on Curry’s short-range touchdown catch and a chip-shot field goal by Lipscombe with less than 12 minutes remaining.
UP NEXT
- Standing in the way of PC’s unblemished record is the Morehead State Eagles, a Pioneer League opponent that has played some mighty close games with coach Englehart’s crew over the years.
- Each of the last four meetings between the Blue Hose and MSU has been decided by single digits. That includes a 31-27 Presbyterian win in the 2023 finale and a 14-7 drama that was won by Morehead in Kentucky last October.
- Next week’s scuffle in Clinton will kick off a stretch of eight straight PFL contests that run through the remainder of the schedule.
- After grinding out a 38-31 win over Allen in the season-opener, Morehead was felled by two ranked opponents in succession (#7 Illinois State and #22 Austin Peay) before then hosting Kentucky Christian on Saturday night.
