Presbyterian College at No. 22/23 Charleston Southern
Saturday, October 18 - 3 p.m.
Buccaneer Field - North Charleston, S.C.
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WATCH: ESPN3 | Live Stats
PC Game Notes | CSU Game Notes
CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College (3-3, 0-1 Big South) football hits the road this week for its first away game against a non-FBS opponent this season, squaring off against No. 22/23 Charleston Southern (5-1, 0-0 Big South) on Saturday at 3 p.m. Video of the game will be available on ESPN3 and live audio will be available on Sunny 103.5.
The Blue Hose offense turned in a breakout performance last weekend against the No. 3 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, but the nationally-ranked visitors pulled away for a 40-28 victory. PC will face another tough challenge this week with Charleston Southern, who improved its standing in the polls after a razor-thin defeat at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The loss marked the Buccaneers' first of the season and only the fourth for head coach Jamey Chadwell in his second season. The game will mark PC's third against a ranked opponents this season, the most in the team's Division I history. PC toppled then-No. 12 Furman on September 13, 10-7, before falling to No. 3 Coastal on Saturday.
PC dropped its Saturday home game against No. 3 Coastal Carolina, 40-28. The Blue Hose scored first and led early in the third quarter but the Chanticleers pulled away to avoid the upset bid. The 28 points, 447 total yards and three passing touchdowns against the No. 3 Chanticleers mark season-highs against FCS competition and the 28 points mark the most PC has scored against a ranked opponent since 31 against No. 17 Liberty on November 1, 2008.
PC earned nine votes in this week's FCS The Sports Network poll. The votes place the Blue Hose ahead of other South Carolina program Wofford but behind Western Carolina (21 votes) and Furman (12), both teams PC has beaten this season.
Charleston Southern enters the week with the No. 22 ranking in the FCS Coaches' Poll and No. 23 in this week's FCS The Sports Network poll. The Buccaneers nearly took down Vanderbilt, 21-20, and boast the nation's 10th-best defense and an offense that resides in the top 30. This week, Lorenzo Mathis (Special Teams) and Davion Anderson (Freshman) earned Big South weekly honors. Quarterback Austin Brown has tossed eight touchdowns and Christian Reyes averages 70.0 yards with four scores on the ground.
Sophomore quarterback Heys McMath threw a career-high three touchdown passes on Saturday. The scores gave him 16 TD passes for his career, passing Grayson Mullins for third-most in a Division I career at PC. He also set a new career-best with 11 rushing attempts and 37 passing attempts.
Senior running back Demarcus Rouse rushed 19 times for a career-high 145 yards against the Chanticleers on Saturday. Rouse broke a 52-yard rush down the right side for the game's first touchdown in the first quarter. The yardage brings him to 1,488 for his career, second in the school's Division I history and 12 away from 1,500. With injuries to the PC rushing corps, Rouse has assumed the feature back role and currently ranks second in the Big South with 5.9 yards per carry.
Senior wide receiver Tobi Antigha made a 17-yard grab in the first quarter on October 4 against Western Carolina to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for his career, becoming the fifth player in the PC Division I era to reach the millennium plateau. In his last three games, Antigha has made six (NC State), eight (Western Carolina) and six (Coastal) receptions for an average of 67 per game. after catching just seven passes through the first three games of the season. Antigha ranks fourth in the Big South Conference with 4.5 receptions per game.
The Blue Hose are on pace for the best rushing season in its Division I era, posting an average of 191.3 yards per game. PC posted 175.6 rushing yards per game in 11 games in 2011, the current record. Demarcus Rouse rushed for 145 yards on 19 carries on Saturday against Coastal Carolina. Blake Roberts added 43 yards, part of 232 total team yards on the ground.
Ed Britt made eight tackles (seven solo) on Saturday and intercepted a pass, the team's only takeaway. Britt has enjoyed a fine season, picking off passes in two straight games and averaging 5.5 tackles per game. The defensive back has also scored twice this season on defense, once on an interception return against Western Carolina (10/4) and once on a fumble return against Bluefield (9/6).
PC ranks in the top 25 among FCS schools in net punting (18), punt returns (18), red zone defense (20), fewest penalties per game (22), fewest penalty yards per game (22) and time of possession (25).
Donelle Williams made a season-high 11 tackles on Saturday against Coastal Carolina to lead the Blue Hose in that category. The tackles give Williams, the 2011 Big South Freshman of the Year, 252 for his career, just 27 behind Justin Bethel (2008-11) for most in PC's Division I history. He also ranks second behind Bethel with 137 unassisted tackles, 62 shy of Bethel in that category.
Following Saturday's game, PC returns home to host Monmouth on Saturday, October 25 in a Homecoming matchup at 2 p.m.
