CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team couldn't have scripted a more opportunistic time to embark on a three-game homestand that begins this Saturday, hosting Erskine at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Kickoff will occur at 7:00, with streaming available via ESPN+.

Winning two thrillers in a row as the underdog against then-#11 Mercer and Furman, PC has quickly ascended the national ranks and is on the verge of being inside the FCS top 25 for the first time.

Head coach Steve Englehart and co. will have the luxury of no more road games for an entire month, hosting their next three opponents which starts with the Flying Fleet tomorrow.

It will be just the third home game under the lights during Englehart's tenure (2022 onward), looking to continue their tidal wave of momentum and start a season 3-0 for only the second time since the turn of the millennium.


 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: (RV) Presbyterian (2-0) vs. Erskine (0-1)
WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
WHEN: Saturday, September 13 | 7:00 PM
ADMISSION: BlueHoseTix.com
GAMEDAY PROTOCOL: Bailey Memorial Stadium Policies & Map
FLIP CARDS: Sponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union
CLEAR BAG POLICY: Handbag Code


 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+ (Gabriel Schray & Tim Webb)
LIVE STATS: Stat Broadcast
TWITTER / X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | PFL Weekly Report

 
 
SOCON SLAYERS
 
 • One of the most talked-about teams at the FCS level resides right here in Clinton, as the Blue Hose pulled off another improbable victory at Furman last weekend. PC's second straight win over a scholarship program, they did it by overcoming a 21-point deficit and winning 39-38 in overtime.

• Down by 10 with 6:25 on the clock, Presbyterian connected on a chip-shot field goal to pull within one score. Furman surrendered a crucial fumble just three plays later, allowing sophomore receiver BJ Atkins to score his first collegiate touchdown which tied the game at 31 apiece.

• Senior tight end Nathan Levicki grabbed a close-range TD in the overtime period (his second score of the evening). Rather than kick a standard PAT, coach Englehart elected for an all-or-nothing two-point conversion attempt. That gamble paid off, and it was Levicki once again who did the honors.

• PC has now defeated a SoCon school in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history (having also stunned then-#11 Mercer 15-10).

• Thus, Englehart now owns three wins over three different members of the Southern Conference (Presby began their SoCon sabotage back in 2023 when beating Wofford 23-20 in Spartanburg).


 
DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS
 
• The win at Furman wouldn't have been possible without an incredible second-half effort by the blue & garnet defense. After going up 31-14 with 9:43 left in the 3rd quarter, the Paladins did not record a single first down for the rest of regulation.

• PC held Furman to eight yards of total offense over their last five drives, forcing them into a three-and-out situation four times.

• Furman's average time-of-possession was just 1:27 in those five series, greatly contributing to the dramatic comeback.


 
TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING
 
• A win over Erskine on Saturday would give the Blue Hose their first 3-0 start to a season in two full decades, last accomplishing that feat all the way back in 2005.

• Five prior PC football teams have started a season 3-0, happening just once in the 21st century:
 
- 1958 (def. East Carolina, Lenoir-Rhyne, & Wofford...ended with a 6-3-1 record)

- 1959 (def. East Carolina, Furman, & Davidson...ended with a 9-2 record)

- 1971 (def. Furman, Lenoir-Rhyne, & Wofford...ended with an 8-3 record)

- 1979 (def. The Citadel, Furman, & Lenoir-Rhyne...ended with an 11-2 record)

- 2005 (def. West Georgia, Fayetteville State, & Charleston Southern...ended with a 10-2 record)


 
ONE WIN FROM HISTORY
 
• The all-time Presbyterian record for most consecutive wins in a home opener was established from 1964-68, a period of five straight. Beating Erskine would give PC their sixth home-opening win in a row, breaking that 57-year streak in the process.

• PC's last five victories in a home-opener (listed in descending order):
 
- 2024 (def. Virginia-Lynchburg, 52-0)

- 2023 (def. Virginia-Lynchburg, 48-17)

- 2022 (def. Virginia-Lynchburg, 21-13)

- 2021 (def. St. Andrews, 84-43)

- Spring '21 (def. Morehead State, 31-16)


 
OPPONENT PROFILE
 
• Erskine will make the short trip to Clinton on Saturday, the first time that the Flying Fleet have ever played in Bailey Memorial Stadium and their first time competing on PC's campus in general for football since 1950.

• It was an inauspicious start to 2025 for Erskine, dropping a 35-7 decision to Anderson on a night where they trailed by as many as five touchdowns.

• The Fleet were a mere 4-of-13 on third-down snaps (31 percent), turning the ball over four times and only advancing into the red zone once in 11 chances.

• It's been over 365 days since Erskine last tasted a victory (52-0 over St. Andrews in the 2024 opener), tangled in a nine-game losing streak that coincidentally started with a 31-14 defeat to Presbyterian.

• Erskine has lost its last 16 road matchups dating back to 2022, with their last victory away from home coming against Clark Atlanta (23-19) three years ago.


 
AMONG THE UNDEFEATED CLUB
 
• By starting 2025 with two earth-shattering wins over Mercer and Furman, the Blue Hose can call themselves one of 18 FCS schools yet to take a loss.

• Excluding all Ivy League institutions (who have all yet to start their respective campaigns), PC is joined in the unbeaten category by:
 
- #1 North Dakota State
- #2 South Dakota State
- #3 Tarleton State
- #5 Rhode Island
- #7 Montana
- #11 Villanova
- #12 Lehigh
- #16 Tennessee Tech
- #18 Monmouth
- #24 New Hampshire
- #25 Youngstown State
- Drake
- Georgetown
- Indiana State (as of Friday afternoon)
- Towson
- UT-Rio Grande Valley
- West Georgia


 
CLOSE TO THE MOST
 
• Presbyterian is officially tied for the second-longest current winning streak in all of FCS (dating back to the last four games of 2024).

• The Scotsmen have won their last six meetings, the same number as the reigning national champion North Dakota State Bison.

• Tennessee Tech is the lone FCS program that is currently riding a longer winning streak than PC and NDSU, just one game better with seven straight victories.

• No team in FCS has a better current winning streak in road games than the Blue Hose, who have won the last four times they've been the visiting party.

• Harvard, Monmouth, New Hampshire, Towson, and West Georgia are the only other FCS programs with at least three straight road wins dating back to last year.


 
NEARLY RANKED
 
• In both the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform rankings, Presbyterian is very close to entering the top 25 for the first time in their Division I history.

• Only ETSU (43) and Lamar (38) are receiving more votes than PC among those not in the AFCA poll (the Blue Hose are receiving 35 votes).

• Meanwhile, in the Stats Perform top 25, Mercer has just one more vote than Presbyterian (101 compared to 100), which technically puts PC at #27 nationally in that system.


 
GROUNDING THE FLEET
 
• Presbyterian owns a commanding lead in their all-time series history with Erskine, winning 30 of the 33 games against the Fleet which spans back over one hundred years.

• First playing Erskine in the year 1915, the Blue Hose are on an 11-game winning streak against their in-state opponent. That's the longest active win streak against any school that PC has ever faced in their 112-year history.

• The Blue Hose are 15-1 when facing the Fleet in Clinton, surpassing the 30-point mark in each of their last four efforts versus Erskine regardless of location.

• Future PFL Offensive Freshman of the Year Collin Hurst made his first career start in last season's 31-14 win over Erskine in Greenwood, the same night that Zach Switzer broke free for a 90-yard kick-return touchdown and totaled a career-high 229 all-purpose yards.