Bailey Memorial Stadium hasn’t hosted a game this big since the COVID spring of 2021.

Not that it’s the Super Bowl, or even anything approaching the Bronze Derby, but Stetson visits on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a game Presbyterian needs to win. The Blue Hose never won such a game in 2021 (regularly scheduled fall version) or 2022. The Blue Hose won at home but only against the likes of Mount Olive, Fort Lauderdale and Virginia University of Lynchburg, none of which gets that many on social media.

Presbyterian (2-2, 0-1 PFL) is far better now, and the Pioneer Football League seems as balanced as it is geographically diverse. Ten is the loneliest number for both teams. The Blue Hose (27-17) and Hatters (28-18) both lost to Butler in their league openers by 10 points. Stetson (2-3, 0-2) lost its second by 10 to Marist, 34-24.

Butler pounded the Blue Hose in the second half. Stetson is unlikely to succeed in the same manner. The Hatters rely heavily on the pass, as do the Blue Hose.

Of the Butler game, Presbyterian head coach Steve Englehart said, “We came out a little flat, they were physical and kind of molded us up front.

“Our defense was doing a good job. It was just that [Butler] stayed committed to the run … and they ran the heck out of it.”

If PC is the favorite versus Stetson, it is because it’s the first home game in 28 days and since the Blue Hose’ stunning 23-20 upset of Wofford. The Terriers are 0-5, but they have scholarships that the Blue Hose do not. The upset will never get the credit it deserves. Gibbs Stadium on Sept. 16 was a mix of exultation among the PC players and fans, countered by grumpy resignation among the Wofford faithful. That stirring result will boost Saturday’s crowd.

Since a 26-3 victory in DeLand, Fla., in Tommy Spangler’s final year at the Blue Hose helm, Stetson has thumped PC 56-14 in 2021 and 42-21 last year. The Hatters fell at FCS power Montana State, 57-20. Stetson twice faces a Saint Thomas, having beaten one in Florida, 34-33, and facing the PFL member from Minnesota on Oct. 28. Both wins to date were at home, against St. Thomas I and Webber International, 38-28.

Stetson disbanded football from 1957 through 2011, but it’s the 14^th all-time meeting in a series PC leads, 9-2-2. The Hatters’ wins were the past two.

Wideout Nazeviah Burris and quarterback Matt O’Connor both rank second in the PFL, in all-purpose yardage (119 average) and completion percentage (63 percent), respectively. The Hatters’ leading rusher, Devon Brewer, averages only 31 yards a game.

Big plays have been both a blessing and a curse for the Blue Hose, who popped Wofford with them and took a 17-14 halftime lead at Butler after Dominic Kibby caught two long – as in 93 and 75 yards – touchdown passes from Tyler Wesley. The curse was in the second half, which Butler dominated with ball control. The Bulldogs’ edge in time of possession, 23 minutes in the whole game, was greater and as significant as the point spread.

“We were living on the big play,” said Englehart in the postgame. “It worried me a little bit because [Butler] was controlling the ball and the game in a lot of ways. … We got into too many three-and-outs and couldn’t find any rhythm.”

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