BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College football team opens the ODAC slate as (RV) Randolph-Macon rolls into the valley for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

When: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Where: Bridgewater, Va.
Stadium: The Stadium at the Jopson Athletic Complex
Kickoff: 7:00 pm 
Gameday Forecast: Partly Cloudy and warm, 79F
        10% Chance of rain
Series Record: RMC leads 65-17-3

NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK: Aaron Nice returned to the gridiron for the first time in over a year in BC's week one loss to Stevenson and made an instant impact. The senior backed it up on Saturday afternoon against Susquehanna with his second-straight game with eight solo tackles and multiple stops behind the line. Nice ranks seventh in Division III with 3.3 TFL per game and sits 12th nationally averaging eight solo stops per game. The Stuarts Draft native ranks third in program history with 19.0 sacks and sits fifth with 39.5 career tackles for loss. 

AIR IT OUT:  The Bridgewater offense has made its bed through the air in the opening two games of the season. The Eagles' passing offense ranks third in the ODAC and 69th in Division III, averaging 241.5 yards through the air per game. BC quarterback Jaicere Bateman ranks 49th in the country with 471 passing yards through two games and sits second in the ODAC with four passing scores. Bateman has connected with Ian Browne for three of those to tie for the ODAC lead and rank 12th in Div. III. Browne also ranks second in the ODAC in all things receiving, highlighted by ranking 18th nationally with 234 yards through a pair of contests. Browne paces the ODAC in scoring, averaging 12.0 points per contest. His four total TDs rank 15th in Div. III. Tate Leach has chipped in as well, ranking second in the ODAC with 21.0 yards per catch.

THE DARKSIDE: The Bridgewater defense opened the season standing strong on third down against Stevenson, but Susquehanna was a different story. The high-powered SU offense put up 557 yards of total offense, with 325 coming on the ground. The defense's strength through two games has been tackles for loss, as BC ranks 63rd, averaging 7.0 stops behind the line per game. Bridgewater has also gotten to the QB, averaging over two sacks per game as a team to sit inside the top 80 nationally.

SPECIAL TEAMS MATTER:  The Bridgewater special teams unit continued to be one of the nation's best two weeks into the 2025 season. Brendan Robinson ranks 55th in Division III in kick returns, averaging 23.7 yards per return. Tate Leach leads the ODAC after week one and ranks 41st in the country as he averages 7.8 yards per punt return. Aiden Grefe and the Eagles' punt unit have also been a bright spot as the unit ranks third nationally, averaging a net of 45.4 yards, and Grefe ranks fourth in the country, averaging 47.5 yards per attempt.  

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS: Randolph-Macon enters Saturday's matchup at 1-1 after a 10-0 loss at Central in Iowa. This is he first time since 2019 that RMC has started a season 1-1, but don't let the .500 record and the fact the Yellow Jackets have fallen out of the D3football.com Top 25 fool you. Randolph-Macon returns with the leadership of Dayton transfer Dante Casciola under center and as one of the best defenses in Division III. RMC also plays a disciplined brand of football that has then tagged as the least penalized team in the ODAC and the 25th lowest in the country with just 3.5 flags per game. 

RANDOLPH-MACON HEAD COACH:  Pedro Arruza is in his 22nd season leading the Yellow Jackets. RMC has achieved three-straight 10-win seasons under Arruza and has finished .500 or better every season since 2016. Arruza's 148 victories are the 12th most among active Div. III head coaches while he also has amassed six ODAC Coach of the Year honors. RMC has also taken home six of the last nine ODAC Championships. 

GIVE ME THAT: Randolph-Macon currently sits tied for second in Division III with eight takeaways in the first two games of the season. RMC holds a turnover margin of +2.5 to tie for the best mark in the ODAC and inside the top 10 nationally. Christian Daniel ranks second in Division III as he is averaging 2.0 interceptions per game. 

GROUND GAME: The Yellow Jackets possess one of Division III's top run games as they rank 40th putting up 216.0 yards per game on the ground. RMC's rushing attack is anchored by Mitchell Johnson, Cameron Chatmon and Dante Casciola who all average better than 55 yards rushing per game through the opening two weeks. Chatmon's 5.5 yards per rush also ranks in the top 75 in Division III. 

BOUNCING BACK: The Bridgewater College football team looks to get in the win column for the first time in 2025 as the squad enters Saturday at 0-2 for the first time since 1999. BC looks to avoid a 0-3 start to the year for the first time since 1998, when BC went 0-10. Under Scott Lemn, Brigewater is 3-1 in the third games of the season, with the lone loss coming to RMC in 2021.

A STORIED HISTORY: Both BC and RMC enter Saturday's matchup on the back of a loss the week prior. 2017 is the only time both teams have squared off under such circumstances, with RMC rolling to a 52-24 victory in Rockingham County. In that same time span, each side has entered such a matchup following a loss four separate times. BC is 0-4 in those contests (2007, 2015, 2017, 2018) while RMC is 2-2 with wins in 2009 and the already mentioned 2017. 

FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Eagles look to get their first win in 2025 and look to avoid dropping their second-straight home game to open the season for the first time since 2008. BC has dropped consecutive home games twice under Scott Lemn, including last season. The Eagles hold a 14-6 record at home under Lemn, but are seeking their first win at home since last October.