Presbyterian College vs. Gardner-Webb
Saturday, November 15 - 12 p.m.
Spangler Stadium - Boiling Springs, N.C.
LISTEN: 103.5 Sunny FM (sunny103-5.com)
WATCH: American Sports Network
PC Game Notes
TV Stations Showing the Game
CLINTON, S.C. - The Presbyterian College football team (5-5, 2-2 Big South) wraps up its final regular season game of 2014 on Saturday at noon with its program debut on the American Sports Network against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (4-6, 0-3 Big South). The game looms large for PC, as a win would give the Blue Hose their first winning season since 2007 and their first-ever winning campaign in the Big South Conference.
PC dropped its Saturday road test at No. 11 Ole Miss, 48-0, marking the only time this season the team has lost back-to-back games. The Blue Hose will face a Gardner-Webb squad looking to snap a three-game losing streak following a 44-14 road loss at Charleston Southern on Saturday. PC will also aim to even the all-time series with a win, as Gardner-Webb took an 18-17 lead by besting the Blue Hose, 20-13, in PC's home season finale.
Presbyterian football dropped its Saturday road game at No. 11 Ole Miss. The Rebels led 35-0 at halftime en route to the win and racked up 402 yards on the ground. PC's offense could not find much space against the country's best scoring defense, never entering the red zone despite holding the ball for 33:33 of game time.
Gardner-Webb has lost its last three games to Charleston Southern (44-14), Coastal Carolina (38-14) and Liberty (34-0). The Runnin' Bulldogs play a disciplined band of football, boasting a +0.30 turnover margin and leading all FCS teams in fewest penalties per game and fewest penalty yards per game. Clinton High School product Kenny Cook paces Gardner-Webb with 51 receptions for 657 yards and four touchdowns.
Redshirt junior linebacker Donelle Williams registered 10 tackles against Ole Miss to give him 281 for his career, passing Justin Bethel's (2008-11) 271 for the most in PC's Division I history. Williams leads the team with 72 this season (43 solo, 29 assisted). He already holds the PC Division I record for assisted tackles (128) and ranks second behind Bethel in unassisted tackles with 153 to Bethel's 199.
PC enters the week with the nation's fourth-ranked red zone defense in the FCS after limiting Ole Miss to one score in three trips to the red zone. Freshman Steve Osondu blocked a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter for the first blocked kick of his career and Shonquille Byers nearly intercepted a fourth-down Bo Wallace pass to force a turnover on downs. The Blue Hose improved to fourth (from fifth) in FCS in red zone defense, holding opponents to a 60.6 percent conversion rate inside the 20-yard line (20/33) this season.
The Blue Hose need 199 yards on the ground against Gardner-Webb to set a new school Division I single-season rushing record. PC posted 175.6 rushing yards per game in 11 games in 2011, the current record, and currently stands at 173.4
Senior wide receiver Tobi Antigha caught a team-high three passes on Saturday to extend his hold on the team lead with 48. He also paces the team with 491 yards but has yet to score a touchdown on the year, despite finding the end zone on a two-point conversion against Monmouth. He stands at second place on PC's Division I list with 112 and needs only two more to catch Terrance Butler's first-place mark of 114. He also ranks second on the school's Division I yardage list, with 1,377.
PC finished its home schedule with a 4-2 record at Bailey Memorial Stadium, matching 2011 for the most home wins in a Division I season. A win on Saturday would add on to what is already the most for the Blue Hose in a Division I season as PC won last won five games with a 6-5 campaign in 2007. PC needs one more Big South win to catch the 2011 season high-water mark when the Blue Hose went 3-3 in the League.
PC ranks in the top 30 among FCS schools in red zone defense (4), time of possession (20), fewest penalties per game (34) and punt returns (29).
In 2012, PC allowed 37.9 points per game and 501.1 yards of total offense. Tommy Spangler then returned to PC as defensive coordinator in 2013 and improved the team's defense to 32.5 points allowed and 425.6 yards per game in his first season. This year, PC has averaged 26.3 points allowed and 395.7 yards per game. Against FCS teams, PC is allowing 17.3 points per game and 327.3 yards of offense.
Sophomore defensive lineman Khari Rosier ranks second in the Big South Conference with 9.5 tackles for loss against Charleston Southern on the year. Rosier got behind the line once Liberty, Monmouth and Charleston Southern, once against Western Carolina, three times against Bluefield on September 6 and recovered a fumble against Furman.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Ugonna Akoh earned Capital One Academic All-District 4 honors for his work on the field and in the classroom. A chemistry major with a 3.87 GPA, he leads PC and ranks fifth in the Big South Conference with four sacks on the season. Akoh has posted 24 tackles and his 5.5 tackles for a loss ranks second on the Blue Hose as well.
