SAN DIEGO, Calif. – For the third time in its century-long history, the Presbyterian College football team will be playing in the state of California, continuing the Pioneer Football League gauntlet against San Diego on Saturday afternoon.

Kickoff in SoCal is scheduled for 1:00 local time (4:00 PM ET), streamed live on ESPN+.

Going up against another revered PFL program – the same team that achieved 12 conference championships in the span of 17 seasons from 2005-21 – the Blue Hose will search for their first league win in their second try after a hefty comeback bid fell short last weekend at Davidson.

USD has gotten the better of Presbyterian in all four meetings dating back to the spring '21 calendar. The theme of this series has been defense, based on the fact that the winning side didn't make it past 28 points in three of those four matchups.

 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: Presbyterian (2-3, 0-1) at San Diego (2-2, 0-1)
WHERE: Torero Stadium (San Diego, Calif.)
WHEN: Saturday, October 5 | 1:00 PST, 4:00 EST

 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
TWITTER / X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: PC Notes | San Diego Notes | PFL Weekly Report


 
OPPONENT PROFILE
 
• One of the original six members of the Pioneer Football League in the early 1990's, San Diego will host PC on Saturday with a thirst to get back in the win column after two dramatic defeats against quality competition.

• The Toreros kicked off the '24 slate by beating scholarship program Cal Poly out of the Big West Conference (27-21). They followed that up with another W against Central Washington by three touchdowns, moving to 2-0 in the process.

• Since that point, however, it's been a slew of misfortune for head coach Brandon Moore's club in his second season. Despite a halftime lead, USD was vanquished by #10 North Dakota 41-24 to take their first loss of the campaign.

• One week later, San Diego nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages against reigning PFL champion Drake in Des Moines, storming back from an 18-point fourth-quarter hole to take the lead with less than two minutes to go.

• Instead, the Bulldogs drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired to win the game 30-28, their 12th straight conference victory dating back to 2022.


 
HURST HITS NEW HIGHS
 
 • In only his third collegiate start, redshirt-freshman quarterback Collin Hurst submitted his best effort last weekend in a blistering offensive outing against Davidson. He completed 25-of-37 attempts (67 percent) that added up for 358 passing yards and three touchdowns.

• That's the tallest figure of passing yardage in a single game since head coach Steve Englehart took command of PC prior to the 2022 season, completing 24 passes over the last three quarters in North Carolina.

• Ren Hefley - now playing for Gardner-Webb - was the last Blue Hose QB to throw for at least 350 yards in one day (a 2021 matchup versus Valparaiso). Hurst threw a pass to six different receivers in the rivalry meeting, although his favorite target was senior tight end Worth Warner (eight receptions for a career-best 132 yards).

• Hurst contributed to three of Presby's six touchdowns (now up to eight TD passes thus far), responsible for 72 percent of the team's offensive production on a night where the Blue Hose accumulated 494 yards from scrimmage.


 
PC + TEAM USA
 
• Arriving in Cali earlier this week, Presbyterian made history by becoming the first-ever college football team to lodge and practice at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, located seven miles from the city of San Diego.

• The Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center is a 155-acre facility that houses state-of-the-art scenic venues for over a dozen Olympic and Paralympic sports.

• The complex was created in 1995, the first of its kind to be master-planned from the ground up. Abbreviated as "CVEATC", the facility has housed thousands of athletes who have gone on to compete at the past eight Summer Olympic games.

• Presbyterian spent the week practicing at the Team USA Rugby facility, the first college football team of any governing body to do so. PC took a group photo at the conclusion of their first practice on Wednesday, a picture that is now on display at the CVEATC Dining Hall alongside dozens of other world-renowned athletes to have won medals representing the United States
.

 
300 (AND COUNTING) FOR HERRIOTT
 
• Already littered throughout PC's Division I record book as one of the fiercest linebackers in the country, senior Alex Herriott achieved another impressive feat last weekend by collecting his 300th career tackle against Davidson.

• Just two other Presbyterian players have climbed to that number since the school made the D-I leap in 2007 (Donelle Williams and Colby Campbell), averaging 90 tackles per year since his freshman stint in 2021.

• After reaching a ridiculous 118 tackles last fall, Herriott has positioned himself to become the first PC defender in the D-I era to lead the team in tackling for four consecutive seasons. He has never missed a collegiate game and is a two-time All-PFL recipient.


 
GOLDEN STATE HISTORY
 
 • Located on the east coast, Presbyterian has only ventured to the state of California twice in its 100-plus year history going into Saturday's San Diego flight.

• PC's first-ever trip to the Gold Rush State came 98 years after its first football team was established, a 2011 voyage to Pac-12 country to face the Cal Golden Bears in Berkeley (now an ACC member).

• Having joined the Pioneer Football League formally in 2021, the Blue Hose returned to California in '22 for their inaugural road game against San Diego. USD emerged as the victors on that overcast afternoon by a 28-3 margin.

 

AROUND THE PFL
 
• Butler is one of six remaining unbeaten teams in the FCS entering Week 6. Mercer and Montana State lead the group at 5-0, with Butler and Delaware each 4-0. Ivy League members Brown and Dartmouth, who did not start their seasons until Week 4, are both 2-0 as they prepare to begin league action this week.

• Drake brings a 12-game PFL win streak into Saturday's tilt at Valparaiso after narrowly defeating San Diego in Week 5 to keep the streak alive. The Bulldogs' last conference loss was on Oct. 22, 2022, when they dropped a 48-14 decision to Davidson as part of a then-season-opening eight-game losing streak. Since snapping that streak, Drake is 13-5 overall.