PC Remains in Both AFCA & Stats Perform Polls for Sixth Straight Week

The 8-1 Presbyterian College football team has achieved something no other school from the PFL has been able to in the last 16 years: stay inside both the AFCA Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Rankings simultaneously for six consecutive weeks.

PC – winners of 12 of their last 13 games – checks in at #23 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and stays 25^th in the Stats Perform Poll.

Head coach Steve Englehart (one win away from his 90^th career victory) engineered a 29-point triumph over Valparaiso last Saturday at Bailey Memorial Stadium, Presby’s seventh consecutive home win which had not been seen since 1999.

The Blue Hose become the first Pioneer Football League institution since 2009 to be listed in both rankings for six weeks in a row, setting their sights on Davidson this weekend in the annual Carolina Border Clash.

The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) has conducted a weekly poll of FBS programs since 1950 and has ranked teams at the FCS level since the late 70’s. Founded in 1922, the AFCA is comprised of over 11,000 members and represents 90 percent of college football head coaches.

The Stats Perform panel is made up of 56 individuals who represent all 13 conferences (129 teams) in FCS.

AFCA FCS COACHES POLL – WEEK 11 (NOVEMBER 3)

1. North Dakota State (9-0) – 625 Points – 25 First-Place Votes
2. Montana (9-0) – 598 Points
3. Montana State (7-2) – 567 Points
4. Lehigh (9-0) – 521 Points
5. Tennessee Tech (9-0) – 488 Points
6. Monmouth (8-1) – 485 Points
7. Tarleton State (9-1) – 474 Points
8. Villanova (6-2) – 417 Points
9. South Dakota State (7-2) – 389 Points

t-10. Mercer (7-1) – 378 Points

t-10. Rhode Island (7-2) – 378 Points

12. UC Davis (6-2) – 367 Points
13. Harvard (7-0) – 310 Points
14. Southeastern Louisiana (7-2) – 298 Points
15. North Dakota (6-3) – 263 Points
16. Southern Illinois (6-3) – 243 Points
17. Illinois State (6-3) – 240 Points
18. Lamar (7-2) – 173 Points
19. Jackson State (6-2) – 157 Points
20. Abilene Christian (5-4) – 156 Points
21. Stephen F. Austin (7-2) – 148 Points
22. Youngstown State (5-4) – 120 Points
23. Presbyterian (8-1) – 115 Points
24. Western Carolina (6-3) – 51 Points
25. South Dakota (6-4) – 36 Points

STATS PERFORM TOP 25 POLL – WEEK 11 (NOVEMBER 3)

1. North Dakota State (9-0) – 1,400 Points – 56 First-Place Votes
2. Montana (9-0) – 1,336 Points
3. Montana State (7-2) – 1,289 Points
4. Lehigh (9-0) – 1,183 Points
5. Tennessee Tech (9-0) – 1,141 Points
6. Tarleton State (9-1) – 1,118 Points
7. Monmouth (8-1) – 1,062 Points
8. South Dakota State (7-2) – 879 Points
9. Harvard (7-0) – 854 Points
10. Villanova (6-2) – 798 Points
11. UC Davis (6-2) – 794 Points
12. Mercer (7-1) – 759 Points
13. North Dakota (6-3) – 758 Points
14. Rhode Island (7-2) – 728 Points
15. Southern Illinois (6-3) – 580 Points
16. Illinois State (6-3) – 552 Points
17. Stephen F. Austin (7-2) – 463 Points
18. Abilene Christian (5-4) – 459 Points
19. Southeastern Louisiana (7-2) – 441 Points
20. Lamar (7-2) – 317 Points
21. Youngstown State (5-4) – 303 Points
22. South Dakota (6-4) – 259 Points
23. Jackson State (6-2) – 212 Points
24. Western Carolina (6-3) – 174 Points
25. Presbyterian (8-1) – 113 Points

IN THE CONFERENCE TITLE HUNT

– Due to losses by Dayton and Butler, the race for the 2025 PFL championship is a two-team tug-of-war at the moment between the Blue Hose and Drake.

– Presbyterian has won eight of their last nine league games dating back 12 months and will not play Drake at any point this season. Thus, the conference champions may indeed come down to a tie-breaking scenario should the Blue Hose and Bulldogs finish with the same record.

– Coach Englehart’s gang will visit Davidson and St. Thomas before closing the campaign versus Marist. On the other hand, Drake hosts St. Thomas and Morehead State with a road trip to Dayton sandwiched in between.

SEVEN STRAIGHT AT BAILEY 

– PC routed Valparaiso on the first day of November 43-14, pitching a shutout for nearly three full quarters and barricading the Beacons to just 39 yards of total offense in the first half.

– The Scotsmen have defeated the last seven visitors that have come to Clinton, the program’s longest home winning streak in 26 years.

– Should PC defeat Marist later this month, they’ll finish an entire season without losing at home for the first time since 2007 and the first time with at least six home games since 1998.

LOOKING AHEAD

– One of the PFL’s premiere rivalries will take place this Saturday in North Carolina, as Presbyterian takes to Davidson in pursuit of the Battle for the 1919 Cup.

– A series that is over a century old, the Blue Hose have faced off with the Wildcats 35 times. They have squared off six times as co-members of the Pioneer Football League, dueling to a 48-37 Davidson win last year.

– PC looks to return the Carolina Border Clash trophy back to Clinton this weekend, going up against an opponent who has lost five straight outings and sports a 1-8 record. Kickoff is tabbed for 1:00 PM.