CLINTON, S.C. – The eight-month wait is nearly over for the Presbyterian College football team, pulling back the curtain on their 114^th season tomorrow night against UVA Wise. The head coaching debut of Matt Rahl will kick off at 7:00, streaming live on ESPN+.

This is the first time since 2021 that the Blue Hose will play their first game of a new season at Bailey Memorial Stadium, hoping to extend a two-year undefeated streak at home which ranks among the best in NCAA Division I.

It's a new-look roster for Rahl and PC, beginning the campaign under the lights. Thursday is a "Blue Out Bailey" promotion, as fans are encouraged to wear blue upon their arrival.


 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
 
WHO: Presbyterian (0-0) vs. UVA Wise (0-0)

WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)

WHEN: Thursday, August 27 | 7:00 PM

ADMISSION: BlueHoseTix.com

GAMEDAY PROTOCOL: 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

X (FORMERLY TWITTER): @BlueHoseFB




 
#RAHLBALL IS UPON US
 

• Matt Rahl - previously Presbyterian's offensive line coach for a two-season period that featured 16 total wins - will make his collegiate head coaching debut on Thursday night. He was appointed the 18th head coach in Blue Hose history on December 29, 2025.

• With over two decades as an assistant, Rahl takes the reigns at PC for a new era following last season's historic 10-2 run. Filling out the rest of his coaching staff are as follows:

 
- Offensive Coordinator + Quarterbacks coach Mike Babcock
- Defensive Coordinator Michael Bruno
- Running Backs coach Marcus Price
- Wide Receivers coach Airese Currie
- Tight Ends coach Cooper Eckardt
- Offensive Line coach Zack Heeman
- Defensive Line coach Juwan Moye
- Defensive Backs / Special Teams coach Del Howard
- Offensive Analyst Warner Bush
 

• Remaining on Rahl's staff from the previous administration are inside linebackers coach Chad Veccharella (the longest-tenured coach of the bunch in his fifth season at PC) and outside linebackers coach Tucker Queen.

• Few teams in FCS football can equal the influx of youth on Presbyterian's roster; the Blue Hose roll into the season-opener with a whopping 59 true freshmen and 81 new players overall.

• PC will be replacing 21 of 22 starters from last year's record-smashing campaign, including at the quarterback position where sophomore Landon Sharpe will make his first collegiate start.

• The Scotsmen will be starting five true freshmen in Rahl's debut, speaking specifically of tight end Ethan Medley, nose tackle Cornell English, linebackers Tymaries Durant and Chris Glover, and kicker Kade Bailey.


 
EIGHT IS GREAT
 

• Presbyterian has not been defeated in their last eight attempts when playing at their home site of Bailey Memorial Stadium, a streak that spans all the way back to November 2, 2024 (or 662 days and counting).

• That number is tied for the seventh-longest active home winning streak of the 128 FCS programs, and tied for 11th when factoring in the other 138 teams that compete at the FBS level.

• PC's eight-game home winning streak is currently equaled by Stephen F. Austin, Connecticut, Texas Tech, and Ohio State. The NCAA Division I leaders in this department are Rhode Island and the defending national champion Indiana, who have both won 15 in a row at home.

• Last season, the Blue Hose went a perfect 6-0 at Bailey Memorial. It was the first time since 1998 that Presby went undefeated at home over an entire season with at least six attempts (they were also unbeaten in Clinton during the 2007 campaign, when just three home games were played).

• A full list of each result during the ongoing eight-game home winning streak (listed in order of most recent):

 
- Def. Marist, 29-25 (Nov. 22, 2025)
 
- Def. Valparaiso, 43-14 (Nov. 1, 2025)
 
- Def. Stetson, 42-7 (October 18, 2025)
 
- Def. Morehead St, 41-0 (Sept. 27, 2025)
 
- Def. Bluefield, 76-3 (Sept. 20, 2025)
 
- Def. Erskine, 42-14 (Sept. 13, 2025)
 
- Def. #23 Butler, 30-27 (Nov. 23, 2024)
 
- Def. Dayton, 28-7 (November 2, 2024)


 
FUELED BY BAILEY

 
• The Blue Hose were virtually unstoppable in their six home games last season, averaging 467 yards of total offense in those contests while scoring at least 40 points in all but one of them.

• PC won by an average margin of 35 points when they played in front of Scotty and friends last year. This includes a victory over Bluefield by a final count of 76-3 (the second-most points scored in a single game by Presbyterian since turning Division I in the late-2000's).

• The cannons boomed to signal a Blue Hose touchdown 37 times in PC's six home games last year. That comes out to an average of six touchdowns per game.


 
2025 HIGHLIGHTS

 
• Arguably the greatest season in the 113 years of Presbyterian football, last fall saw the Scotsmen steamroll their way to a 7-0 start and ultimately their third-ever 10-win record.

• The Blue Hose went over 365 days in between losses and were one of the final eight undefeated FCS teams at the time of that first defeat.

• PC reached as high as #16 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, a destination that no team in the Pioneer Football League had reached since 2009.

• With Rahl engineering the rush attack, Presbyterian kicked off the season with a mammoth upset against #11 Mercer on the road 15-10. It was PC's highest-ranked victory of the D-I era, putting an end to a 35-game Pioneer League losing streak versus non-conference top-25 opponents.

• Just missing out on an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs after tying for second in the regular-season standings, the Blue Hose set a new program record by getting 11 all-conference players (six of them on the first-team lineup).


 
OPPONENT PROFILE

 
• A member of Division II since 2012, UVA Wise will make their first visit to PC of the 21st century on Thursday night. The Cavaliers endured a 1-9 record last fall, losing all but one league game in the South Atlantic Conference.

• Head coach Gary Bass took the role in 2024 after spending the prior seven seasons as the head coach at Quincy University in Illinois (another D-II school). He is 5-15 overall at Wise.

• He and Matt Rahl have crossed paths before, back when Rahl was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at McKendree (who competes in the same league as Quincy: the Great Lakes Valley Conference).

• Rahl's last season at McKendree was Bass' first at Quincy. The result was a 42-14 hammering for Rahl's bunch, part of a 7-4 record that year for the Bearcats.

• Redshirt-freshman Mac Beason is the Cavs' starting quarterback, a native of Alabama who appeared in four games last year and completed 65 passes for 876 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.

• The Blue Hose played UVA Wise in back-to-back years at the turn of the century, beating them on both occasions: a 49-34 win at home in 1999 and a 56-7 blowout in Virginia the following season. Thus, this will be the first time that these two teams have played each other in 26 years.

• Defense was a concern for UVA Wise in the back half of 2025, giving up 130 combined points to Mars Hill and Emory & Henry to conclude the calendar. They were outscored by an average of 20 points overall, allowing close to 500 yards per outing.


 
BIG MAN MARCELLO

 
• Senior captain Marcello Coleman, a right tackle on the Blue Hose offensive line, has been voted to the preseason All-PFL roster.

• Announced on July 28, the Jacksonville native started 11 games last season and was given an all-conference honorable mention shoutout.

• Presbyterian broke numerous program records with Coleman clearing the path, including: total rushing yards (2,124), rushing touchdowns (26), and total points scored (413).
 
• Coleman and the rest of PC's front line allowed just 1.5 sacks per game last year, good enough to rank in the NCAA top 30.

• Behind Coleman, PC posted three others on the preseason Phil Steele Magazine All-PFL lineup: defensive backs Ryan Largin and Noah Taylor, along with wide receiver Jalen Patrick.

• Largin appeared in every game last season as a sophomore, making 22 tackles for a defense that gave up only 16 points per game (the third-smallest number of any FCS program).

• Taylor broke up four passes in the PC secondary and landed 18 tackles himself. He was part of a defense that held opposing quarterbacks to a combined efficiency rating of 106, which was the fourth-best in the country.

• Patrick logged 16 receptions for 214 yards in a crowded wideout room, including his first career touchdown from 22 yards out in the victory over Bluefield. He has also thrown a touchdown pass in his career, going back to his sophomore season versus Gardner-Webb.