MACON, Ga. – The 113
th season of Presbyterian College football will commence this Saturday in a visiting capacity, headed for the Peach State where PC battles #11 Mercer. Kickoff in Georgia is slated for 6:00 PM, to be streamed live on ESPN+.
It will be the first time in 14 years that the Blue Hose have begun a fresh season with a nationally-ranked opponent as their opening challenger, last faced with that test in 2011 when they hosted then-#8 Wofford.
Head coach
Steve Englehart will enact his fourth season at Presbyterian in the same location where his third campaign also got off the ground, falling to the Bears 12 months ago as Mercer went on to the FCS Quarterfinals.
The Scotsmen bring high hopes into the 2025 season thanks to their well-documented finish last year, hoping to build off of the program's highest win count in a decade.
Tomorrow's tussle in Macon will be the first of back-to-back road trips against Southern Conference enemies for the Blue Hose, scheduled for a September 6 scrum at Furman that follows the Mercer matchup.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: Presbyterian (0-0) at #11 Mercer (0-0)
WHERE: Five Star Stadium (Macon, Ga.)
WHEN: Saturday, August 30 – 6:00 PM
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TWITTER/X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes |
PFL Weekly Report
ENGLEHART ERA: YEAR FOUR
• Arguably the most dangerous team in the Pioneer Football League for the last month of the previous season, Presbyterian goes into head coach
Steve Englehart's fourth year with larger expectations than the program has seen in their brief membership with the PFL.
• This is largely due to the fact that PC is returning eight offensive starters from a unit that won its final four games of 2024 by an average of 18 points, led by the quarterback and reigning PFL Offensive Freshman of the Year:
Collin Hurst.
• The Blue Hose were mentioned more times than any of the other 10 PFL schools in the league's preseason all-conference rollout, flaunting six players: Hurst, wide receivers
Dominic Kibby and
Cincere Gill, all-purpose man
Zach Switzer, defensive end
Carter Szydlowski, and safety
Caleb Francis.
• In 2024, Englehart and co. flipped the script after numerous close losses to win over Stetson, Dayton, Marist, and #23 Butler by a total of 68 points. That solidified PC's first six-win season since 2014 and first undefeated record in the month of November since all the way back in 2002.
• While Presbyterian must replace six defensive starters, the Scotsmen were lethal on that end of the field last year. They charted 27 sacks and 13 interceptions, topping the school's single-season record in the Division I era for both categories.
CHALLENGING THE FCS ELITE
• Saturday's season-starter in Macon will be PC's eighth game against an FCS top 15 opponent in the last 10 seasons. They last faced a member of the top 15 six years ago, hosting fourth-ranked Kennesaw State in Clinton prior to the Owls' move to the FBS level.
• 2014 was the last time that the Blue Hose were victorious over a top-15 foe, outlasting #12 Furman at Bailey Memorial Stadium in a 10-7 decision. Since the school made the jump to Division I in 2007, they have never defeated a top-15 opponent in a road setting.
• PC's last 10 efforts against teams who entered as a top-15 crew:
| Year |
Opponent |
Result |
| 2019 |
vs #4 Kennesaw State |
Lost, 55-10 |
| 2018 |
@ #13 Wofford |
Lost, 45-21 |
| 2018 |
@ #4 Kennesaw State |
Lost, 56-0 |
| 2016 |
@ #9 Charleston Southern |
Lost, 38-3 |
| 2016 |
@ #6 Chattanooga |
Lost, 34-0 |
| 2015 |
@ #1 Coastal Carolina |
Lost, 24-17 |
| 2015 |
vs #8 Chattanooga |
Lost, 21-0 |
| 2014 |
vs #3 Coastal Carolina |
Lost, 40-28 |
| 2014 |
vs #12 Furman |
Won, 10-7 |
| 2013 |
@ #9 Coastal Carolina |
Lost, 46-13 |
OPPONENT PROFILE
• When PC visited Mercer to begin 2024, few could have predicted the quality of season that the Bears were about to enjoy under first-year head coach Mike Jacobs.
• After winning a game in the FCS Playoffs prior to Jacobs' arrival and possibly expecting to take a step back, the Bears instead posted a record of 11-3 and won the Southern Conference Championship for the first time in the program's 51-year history.
• Mercer defeated Rhode Island in the postseason to book their ticket to the FCS Quarterfinals, falling to eventual national champion North Dakota State. Another of their three losses came to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
• The Bears' defense posted remarkable numbers last year, leading the nation in fewest rushing yards allowed per game (72), defensive touchdowns (eight), interceptions (25), and sacks (46).
• Mercer's 114 tackles-for-a-loss ranked second in FCS, as did their third-down defense which only allowed a conversion 27 percent of the time.
• However, they'll need to replace each of their top eight tacklers from that terrific campaign (and nine of their top 11).
• Mercer has won 27 games since the start of 2022, currently riding a 10-game home winning streak that dates back two seasons.
• A huge early-season matchup was set last weekend between #11 Mercer and #7 UC Davis at a neutral site in Montgomery, Alabama. The Bears trailed 23-3 midway through the 3rd quarter, but stormed their way back in the mix with two quick touchdowns.
• Now down by only six points with seven minutes remaining and in possession of the ball, the game was unfortunately called off due to inclement weather after a two-plus-hour delay. Thus, all stats from that contest were deleted.
HURSTS SO GOOD
• The main catalyst for Presbyterian's blazing conclusion to 2024, Hurst completed a phenomenal freshman season that saw him break or inch closer to numerous school records in only a single year.
• Named a Freshman All-American by Phil Steele Magazine and included on the top-ten list for the Jerry Rice Award (an honor presented to the best freshman in FCS football), Hurst topped all quarterbacks in the PFL with a pass efficiency rating of 154.
• The Floridian threw for over 2,300 yards in his first year as the Blue Hose starter, completing 73 percent of his passes during the team's season-ending four-game winning streak and accounting for 22 total touchdowns.
• Hurst completed 43 out of 54 attempts (80 percent) in consecutive wins over Dayton and Marist, exceeding 250 passing yards three times. He tossed for a season-best 358 yards in the PFL opener at Davidson.
• Hurst did not commit a single turnover throughout the last five games of the season, a stretch that included an overtime loss to eventual conference champion Drake.
• He goes into his sophomore campaign with 135 passes in a row without an interception. Out of 281 attempts for the entire season, he threw only four picks.
KIBBY'S CORONATION
• Already one of the best receivers to wear the PC colors in this century, two-time All-PFL'er
Dominic Kibby closes in on yet another D-I-era record in the first game of his final college season.
• Kibby needs only 30 more receiving yards to become PC's new record-holder since the turn to D-I, trailing only Keith Pearson (2017-20) with 2,275 career yards.
• He already holds the career touchdown record, gaining his 15th TD on a 94-yard bomb at Stetson. Coincidentally, Kibby broke two Presbyterian records on that one play: most career touchdown catches AND producing the team's longest-ever passing play from scrimmage.
• The Maryland native is also second in PC's D-I record book in yards-per-reception (17).
SWITZER = SPECIAL TEAMS MAESTRO
• A major coup for Englehart's staff was the retention of First Team All-PFL running back and devastating kick returner
Zach Switzer.
• The former Memphis Tiger calculated 1,250 all-purpose yards last season, the most by any PC player since 2017. Switzer averaged 27 yards per kick return, topping the PFL and ranking 11th in the nation.
• Switzer led PC in total points last fall (36), landing 673 yards in KOR duties including a 90-yard TD at Erskine. He returned seven kicks for at least 35 yards.
CHANGING PFL LANDSCAPE
• The 2025 offseason was a big one for the Pioneer Football League, turning over five new head coaches at Butler, Davidson, Drake, Stetson, and Valparaiso.
• That turnover makes St. Thomas head coach Glenn Caruso the longest serving head coach in the conference as he starts his fifth year.
•
Steve Englehart now has the second-most all-time wins among the 11 active head coaches in the PFL (81).
• For the first time since 2019, the University of San Diego has been tapped as the Pioneer Football League's preseason favorite. The Toreros picked up five first-place votes and were not ranked lower than third by any of the league's head coaches to earn the poll's top spot with 94 points.
• Following a vote by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors in June, the University of St. Thomas has officially completed the reclassification process, making it an active member of NCAA Division I and eligible to compete in NCAA championships.
• The Tommies, who became the first institution to reclassify from Division III directly to Division I, won the 2022 Pioneer Football League title and finished among the league's top three teams in each of their first four seasons.
