Presbyterian College at NC State
Saturday, September 20 - 6 p.m.
Carter-Finley Stadium - Raleigh, N.C.
LISTEN: 103.5 Sunny FM (sunny103-5.com)
WATCH: ESPN3.com
PC Game Notes
Listen to Coach Nichols's interview on ESPN Upstate (fast forward to 7:30)
CLINTON, S.C. - After one of the biggest wins in Presbyterian College football history, the Blue Hose are back at it again this weekend with a Saturday night 6 p.m. test at NC State in Raleigh, N.C. Last Saturday, PC knocked off No. 12 Furman in a lightning-delayed game that saw PC hold the Paladins scoreless after the opening quarter and win on a Heys McMath fourth-quarter touchdown to Kris Hurley.
PC earned 48 votes in this week's FCS The Sports Network poll, 38th-most in the country. The votes place the Blue Hose ahead of other South Carolina programs Charleston Southern and South Carolina State, as well as Big South Conference foe Gardner-Webb.
The Blue Hose take on the Wolfpack in their second of three games this season against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents after falling to Northern Illinois in the season opener, 55-3. The Wolfpack enters the weekend with a 3-0 record and Saturday's game marks the second-ever meeting between the two sides. PC and NC State last tangled 84 years ago, with PC wrestling away a 2-0 in on November 1, 1930. The Blue Hose have yet to beat an FBS team and will play at an ACC school for the third straight season, following Georgia Tech in 2012 and Wake Forest in 2013.
PC knocked off No. 12 Furman on Saturday night, 10-7. Quarterback Heys McMath found tight end Kris Hurley for a nine-yard touchdown pass with 8:15 left in the game to snap a 15-game losing streak to the Paladins. PC's last win over Furman came in 1979 and Saturday's game marked the program's highest-ranked victory in the Division I era. The defense won the game for PC, holding the Paladins to a season-low 214 yards and seven points.
Defensive back DaRon Dickey and punter Stephen Doar were named the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week and the Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, the League announced on Monday. Dickey tallied six tackles (five solo), one tackle-for-loss for minus-7 yards, two pass break-ups and recovered his own forced fumble in PC's Saturday win while Doar set a school Division I record with five of his eight punts landing inside the 20-yard line.
The Wolfpack won its first three games against Georgia Southern (24-23), Old Dominion (46-34) and South Florida (49-17). NC State has posted an average of 516 yards per game and is led by Shadrach Thornton (76.3 ypg) on the ground and Jacoby Brissett (70.4 percent, 7 TD, 270.0 ypg) at quarterback.
The Blue Hose defense the Paladins to a season-low 214 yards and seven points. The PC defense held a team to seven points or fewer for the first time since a 38-6 win over VMI on November 12, 2011. The Blue Hose posted seven tackles for a loss and sacked Furman a season-high four times, limiting the visitors to 4-of-15 on third down.
Sophomore defensive lineman Khari Rosier leads the Big South Conference with five tackles for a loss. Rosier got behind the line three times against Bluefield on September 6 and recovered a fumble against Furman on Saturday.
The Blue Hose delivered back-to-back home wins for the first time since Oct. 19-26 of last season when the program knocked off VMI and Point, respectively. The win also gave PC its first 2-1 start since 2006, when the Blue Hose beat West Georgia and Fayetteville State. The start marks the first 2-1 start at PC for head coach Harold Nichols.
Next, PC enjoys a bye week before returning home to host Western Carolina on Saturday, October 4 at 2 p.m.
