DeLAND, Fla. – The Sunshine State is the destination for the Presbyterian College football team in their ninth straight weekend of action, looking to cast away recent shortcomings in a visit to Stetson on Saturday. Kickoff in PFL game number five is set for 1:00 PM.

Each of the last three appearances for head coach Steve Englehart's unit has ended in calamity, with two overtime defeats in a three-week period and three losses in succession by a touchdown or less.

The Blue Hose have been inches away from a few landmark victories, but were unable to shake the cloud of bad luck that has lingered over them. Drake stole a 19-16 OT decision last weekend in Presby's return to Bailey Memorial Stadium.

PC has faced off with Stetson 14 times, with the first 10 of those coming before the 1960's. The Hatters revived their program after a five-decade hiatus, joining the Pioneer League eight years before Presby.

The garnet and blue have earned the W over Stetson on nine occasions, last defeating them in DeLand (26-3) in the abbreviated Spring 2021 campaign.


 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: Presbyterian (2-6, 0-4 PFL) at Stetson (2-4, 0-2 PFL)
WHERE: Spec Martin Memorial Stadium (DeLand, Fla.)
WHEN: Saturday, October 26 | 1:00 PM

 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SideArm
TWITTER / X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | PFL Weekly Report


 
OPPONENT PROFILE
 
• Having their fair share of misfortunes in the first half of Pioneer Football League action, Stetson sits at 0-2 in conference territory along with two victories over teams outside the Division I realm.

• The Hatters and head coach Brian Young haven't tasted a W since September 7 (back-to-back wins over Ave Maria and Warner), dropping both of their PFL meetings thus far against St. Thomas and Davidson.

• Although it hasn't yet translated to any recent victories, Stetson found a mid-season offensive awakening after being held to just seven combined points against Furman and Harvard.

• Last Saturday at Davidson, the Hatters assembled nearly 500 yards of total offense and their highest point production of the semester (48). The only problem: the Wildcats were even more potent, scoring 70 points themselves beside a whopping 667 total yards.

• That concoction led to a 22-point win for Davidson on a day where 17 touchdowns were scored from 13 different players.

• Almost half of Stetson's 15 drives ended in a touchdown, although they couldn't quite keep pace with a 35-point third quarter by Davidson.


 
THE DRAMA PERSISTS
 
• It seems that, no matter the setting or opponent, Presbyterian has been caught in a vice grip with games that are decided in the final moments. Counting last weekend's overtime heartbreaker versus Drake, the Blue Hose have played in 11 games since the beginning of the 2023 season where the margin was 10 points or less.

• Ten of those eleven games have been against PFL schools, battling three straight league opponents to a nail-biter.

• PC was unable to come away with the win in an OT thriller at San Diego, a one-score result at Morehead State, and the aforementioned Drake drama.

• Dating back to last fall, The Blue Hose have played eight games where the final difference was less than a touchdown. One of those instances was against Stetson at Bailey Memorial Stadium 12 months ago, dropping a tough 28-24 bout to the Hatters.

• Trailing by 10 early in the 4th quarter, Stetson pulled off the comeback by scoring the game-winning touchdown with 32 seconds left on 3rd & goal.


 
HURST ON JERRY RICE AWARD WATCH LIST
 
 • Redshirt freshman quarterback Collin Hurst has been recognized on the 2024 Jerry Rice Award Watch List, awaiting its 14th recipient at the conclusion of the season. The annual honor, presented by Stats Perform and FedEx Ground, is presented to "the most outstanding freshman player in the Football Championship Subdivision."

• This is the second consecutive season that a PC player has been summoned to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List, following in the footsteps of then-rookie kicker Mack Mikko last year.

• Hurst is one of six QB's to make the cut for consideration of the esteemed award, and one of only two players in the Pioneer Football League to be mentioned (alongside Dayton signal-caller Drew VanVleet).

• Created in 2011 and named after legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice – who attended Mississippi Valley State University – the award is voted on by a national panel of more than 40 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers, and other various dignitaries.

• Hurst has made the transition into PC's starting quarterback with flying colors, finding his target 63 percent of the time this season (third in the PFL) with 114 completions. He's thrown for 1,436 total yards and 11 touchdowns.

• Collin's pass efficiency rating of 145.3 ranks inside the nation's top 30, averaging 14 completions per game and 12 yards per completion (a number that tops all QB's in the conference).

• He's posted four 200-yard passing efforts at this stage of the campaign, going for a career-high 358 yards at Davidson last month which is the most in a single game for the Blue Hose since head coach Steve Englehart took over in 2022.

• Notable past honorees of the Jerry Rice Award include future NFL stars Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington, 2013), current Heisman contender Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes (then at UIW in 2020), and starting QB for the Colorado Buffaloes, Shedeur Sanders (then at Jackson State in 2021).


 
KIBBY AT THE TOP
 
• With his next touchdown, junior wide receiver Dominic Kibby will be Presbyterian's new record-holder in the Division I era (since 2007) for most career TD's.

• He is currently tied with Terrance Butler in that category, who caught 14 touchdown passes over a two-year period in the late 2000's.

• Still with one full season remaining in his collegiate tenure, Kibby needs fewer than 400 receiving yards to become PC's new leader in that department as well.

• Never missing a game (30 opportunities), the Maryland native has caught 118 passes and is closing in on 2,000 receiving yards during his time as a Blue Hose.


 
AROUND THE PFL
 
• PFL leader Drake (4-0) takes Week 9 off and will watch what happens behind it in the standings as 3-0 squads Dayton and St. Thomas look to join them with home games this week while one-loss squads Davidson, Morehead State, and San Diego look to keep the pressure applied.

• Drake brings a 15-game PFL win streak into its off week after escaping at Presbyterian last week to extend the streak. After a slew of upsets in Week 8, it is now the longest conference win streak in the FCS.

• Dayton is 3-0 to start PFL play for the first time since the 2015 season. The Flyers ultimately went on to win the 2015 PFL Championship that season, the last of their PFL record 12 championships.

• In addition to Drake's streak, St. Thomas is one of three FCS teams with a seven-game conference win streak – now the second longest such streak in the FCS. Dayton's five-game PFL win streak is next in line, tied for fifth in the FCS.

• The PFL leads all FCS conference with 27 kicks blocked in 74 league games played during 2024. Dayton leads the league and all FCS squads with six blocked kicks this season while Presbyterian has three blocks to its credit, ninth-most in the FCS.