WLBG Real Radio 860 along with PC College station WPCX-FM 97.1 will kick things off at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time with a tailgate show on Thursday at Seibert Stadium.
In Laurens, PC fans should tune their dials to 860 AM to hear the voice of the Blue Hose John Avery along with color analyst and former PC Football player Stan Reid break down PC's first Thursday night game as an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision member.
In the Clinton area Blue Hose fans should turn their dials to the official student radio station of Presbyterian College, 97.1 WPCX, to hear the Presbyterian College Sports Network broadcast.
The broadcast can also be heard online at www.wlbg.com, which can also be linked to directly or from www.gobluehose.com. To link to the broadcast from GoBlueHose.com click on the WLBG Real Radio 860 logo on the main page of the website to the far right.
Thursday night's PC-Samford football game can also be viewed on the Internet at www.ovcsports.tv. The subscription fee for the live video stream costs $5.95.
THURSDAY'S GAME: Presbyterian College travels to Birmingham, Ala. to face off against the Bulldogs of Samford University. PC will try and win its inauguaral NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision road game tonight.
THE COACHES: Presbyterian ? Head coach Bobby Bentley is in his first season in charge of the Presbyterian College football program. A 1990 alumnus of PC, Bentley is 1-1 as a college coach and will be looking for his first intercollegiate road victory in the Samford game. Samford ? Pat Sullivan is in his first season as the head coach at Samford. The Heisman Trophy winner is 1-1 at Samford thus far and 25-43-1 in just over seven years as a head coach.
SERIES: Today's game will mark the first time that the Blue Hose and Samford have tangled on the gridiron since the school changed its name to Samford in 1966. PC and Howard played in 1933 and 1934. The 1933 game was played in Clinton, with Howard winning, 13-0. The 1934 game was played in Birmingham at Legion Field and was also won by Howard, 42-19.
LAST TIME OUT: The Bobby Bentley era of Presbyterian College football in the friendly confines of Bailey Memorial Stadium began with a bang before 4,983 fans in PC's dominating 58-7 victory over Pikeville College last Saturday.
LOPSIDED: The 51-point victory over Pikeville is the ninth-largest margin of victory in the history of the program.
THE BEGINNING: Presbyterian College head football coach Bobby Bentley claimed victory No. 1 as a college head coach in the win over Pikeville. The victory also garnered PC its first win as an FCS institution.
RECORD-BREAKING: PC tied or broke five different records in the Pikeville victory, including the largest victory in the six-year history of Bailey Memorial Stadium. The Blue Hose finished the contest with a program single game-high 795 yards of total offense, including a program-high 603 yards in the air. Prior to Saturday's win over the Bears, PC had never amassed over 640 yards of total offense (PC 62, Catawba 14 in 1994) and never thrown for more than 542 yards (PC 48, Tusculum 41 in 2001). The next two records came mostly off the arm of PC starting quarterback Grayson Mullins (Columbia, S.C.), who with 342 yards passing became the first Blue Hose quarterback since Zach Ellis in a game with Elon in September of 2005 to hurl for over 300 yards. Mullins tied fellow Blue Hose and Irmo quarterback Todd Cunningham for most touchdown passes in a single game with six. In total, Mullins was 17-for-27 in the game with no interceptions. Mullins was one of two Blue Hose quarterbacks to pass for a touchdown as his backup Tim Webb (Lugoff, S.C.) threw for one touchdown and finished the game 15-for-26 with one interception. The seven touchdown passes thrown by the Blue Hose quarterback unit tied for the all-time program single game-high. It had been 55 years since a Blue Hose hurling staff had thrown for so many touchdowns in one game (PC 44, Western Carolina 6 in 1952).
SCORE!: The Blue Hose had not scored 50 points or more in almost 5 years. The last time PC finished a game with 50 or more was in a 58-0 victory over North Greenville on Sept. 28, 2002.
THAT WILL PASS: Grayson Mullins' six touchdown passes marked the first time in over two years that a PC quarterback had hurled for four or more touchdown passes. Zach Ellis threw for four touchdown passes in a 45-24 win over Mars Hill in October of the 2005 season.
NET: PC had not amassed over 500 yards total since picking up 596 yards of total offense in a 48-0 victory over Webber International on Sept. 20, 2003. They had not garnered 600 yards or more since a 61-0 win over North Greenville on Sept. 29, 2001.
RUNNING: Chetyuane Reeder's 63 yard run in the Pikeville game marked the first time since PC's 28-7 win over Carson-Newman in October of 2006 that a PC running back had popped off for a 50 yard run or longer.
INSIDE BLUE HOSE FOOTBALL: The Inside Blue Hose Football Television show will be shown throughout the 2007 football season at 1 p.m. on Friday's on CSS. The show will feature Coach Bentley along with host Brian Hand analyzing highlights from PC games.
BENTLEY RADIO SHOW: Presbyterian College and Real Radio 860 WLBG, the flagship station of PC athletics, debuted the Bobby Bentley Show live on Monday, Aug. 27 from FATZ Caf? on I-26 at Exit 54 next to the Hampton Inn. For the rest of the season the show will be heard live from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. The show features WLBG's John Avery joining Coach Bentley and several members of the team and coaching staff. The show can be heard throughout Laurens County on Real Radio 860 WLBG. It will also be simulcast on WLBG's website, www.wlbg.com.
SAMFORD RADIO COVERAGE: WLBG along with PC College station WPCX-FM 97.1 will kick off coverage of the Samford game with a tailgate show from Seibert Stadium beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday. In Laurens, PC fans should tune their dials to 860 AM to hear the voice of the Blue Hose John Avery along with color analyst and former PC Football player Stan Reid break down PC's inaugural NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision contest in the friendly confines of Bailey Memorial Stadium. The duo will be joined by former Western Carolina standout and former Thornwell High School coach Walter Geary, who will prowl the sidelines for the Presbyterian College Sports Network during the 2007 football season. In the Clinton area Blue Hose fans should turn their dials to 97.1 WPCX, the official student radio station of Presbyterian College to hear the Presbyterian College Sports Network broadcast. The broadcast can also be heard online at www.wlbg.com, which can also be linked to directly or from www.gobluehose.com. To link to the broadcast from GoBlueHose.com click on the WLBG Real Radio 860 logo on the main page of the website to the far right.
IN-STADIUM: For Blue Hose fans traveling to Birmingham, the Presbyterian College Sports Network broadcast will be able to be heard inside Seibert Stadium on 100.1.
ALL-INDEPENDENT: The Blue Hose had seven players named NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-Independent in Phil Steele's national college football preview magazine. Steele's preview placed two Blue Hose on the All-Independent first team offense in senior wide receiver Justin Durant and redshirt sophomore running back S.J. Worrell. Senior captain and defensive lineman Sherman Burnett was named to the first team All-Independent defense along with fellow captain and junior middle linebacker Antwan Thomas. The defensive duo was joined on the first team defense by junior defensive lineman Adam McKinney and junior defensive back Antoine Carter. Junior Bryson Summers was named to the first team as a punter.
BIG SOUTH TELECONFERENCE: The Big South Conference will hold their weekly coaches teleconference every Tuesday throughout the football season. Coach Bentley is scheduled to discuss Blue Hose football every Tuesday from 11-11:10 a.m. If you are an accredited media member and you would like to learn more please contact the Presbyterian College sports information office or the Big South Conference Public Relations Office.
THREE IS A CHARM: PC's move into NCAA Division I marks the third classification of football that the Blue Hose have been a part of in the last 20 years. The Blue Hose along with the South Atlantic Conference left the NAIA in 1992 to join the NCAA Division II ranks.
TOUGH ROAD SCHEDULE: The Blue Hose do not get any breaks in their 2007 road schedule as it will go down as one of the hardest road schedules in program history. The Blue Hose open the season against perennial national championship contender and Southern Conference power Furman and then two weeks later take on new SoCon member Samford on a Thursday night. In fact, three of PC's first four games will be against SoCon competition as PC's fourth game of the year will be against Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. The Blue Hose close out the month of September with a game against a tough North Carolina Central squad before playing three of their four games in October against Big South teams. PC will face off against Virginia Military, Liberty and defending Big South champion Coastal Carolina in October. PC closes out the its season and the month of November with a game against 2005 Big South co-champion Charleston Southern.
STRONG HOME SLATE: Things are not especially easy for the Blue Hose at home either as PC faces a strong trio in the friendly confines of Bailey Memorial Stadium. The Blue Hose begin their 2007 home slate with a Sept. 8 contest against Pikeville College of the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference. The Bears finished 4-6 overall last season and 2-3 in the strong Mid-South Conference. Presbyterian College will then face off against North Greenville University on Homecoming day at PC at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2007. The Crusaders enter the 2007 season coming off one of the best years in program history. NGU finished the year as the top offense in NCAA Division II, averaging 472.2 yards-per-game. The Crusaders also downed the Malone College Pioneers 56-28 to win the National Christian College Athletic Association's 2006 Victory Bowl. The first college football bowl game ever to be played in the Palmetto State gave the Crusaders a school record 10 wins in the 2006 season. The Blue Hose close out their 2007 home schedule with a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 3 against NCAA Division II's Chowan University.
IT'S A FIRST: PC Football will face five teams in the 2007 campaign that they have not squared off against on the gridiron before. The Blue Hose will take on Chowan, Coastal Carolina, North Carolina Central, Pikeville College, and Virginia Military Institute for the first time in the upcoming season.
HOME OPENER: Last Saturday's dominating win over Pikeville was PC's first win in its home opener since the 2005 season when they downed West Georgia, 48-13. The Blue Hose are 6-2 in home openers since their 2000 season-opening and home-opening win over West Georgia.
LAST TIME OUT FOR SAMFORD: NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision 21st-ranked Georgia Tech jumped out to a 28-0 first-quarter lead on its way to a 69-14 win over Samford in front of 43,288 fans Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium. For Samford (1-1), Jeff Moore caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson Adcock completed 15-of-29 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman running back Chris Evans rushed 12 times for 49 yards, while freshman Alex Barnett scored his first collegiate touchdown, rushing seven times for 23 yards. The game was Samford's first against a ranked FBS (formerly I-A) team. The loss was Samford's biggest since Sept. 12, 1992, when the Bulldogs lost at Auburn, 55-0.
