BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College football team returns from a bye week to tangle with Centre on Saturday night.

When: Saturday, September 26, 2026
Where: Danville, Ky.
Stadium: Joe McDaniel Field at Andy Frye Stadium
Watch: FloCollege ($)
Kickoff: 7:00 pm 
Gameday Forecast: Mostly Sunny, 68F
        0% Chance of rain
Series Record: First meeting

THE DARKSIDE: The Bridgewater defense has opened the season with successful flashes against stiff competition. Oscar Whitely had a game to remember last time out as he led the team with 14 total tackles, tying for the 10th most by a player in a single game in program history. The linebacking unit has been a bright spot in the defense for BC as Whitely, CJ Miazzo and Joey Strong all rank inside the top dozen in the ODAC in tackles, while also recording an interception each this season. Whitely also ranks 14th in Div. III in total tackles. As a unit, the BC offense has defense has been successful getting off the field on third down. BC ranks 38th in Div. III  and second in the ODAC, as teams have converted on just 30.4% of the time. BC ranks just outside the top 100 in Div. III against the pass, allowing 200.0 yards per game, while ranking outside the top 200 and allowing 208.0 yards on the ground per contest.

OFFENSIVE MAKEOVER:  The Bridgewater offense embarks on a new chapter in 2026 as Kevin Saxton II takes over the signal calling in his first season as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. Saxton comes back to the ODAC after most recently serving as an assistant under Andy Reid in Kansas City. The Eagles offense has faced tall orders in both contests in 2026 with Stevenson and Susquehanna. The BC offense ranks 235th of 243 schools in Div. III in total offense, averaging just 161.0 yards per game. BC also sits outside the top 220 in first downs, red zone offense, rushing offense, sacks allowed and third down offense. A bright spot of the offense so far has been the air attack. Parker Burke ranks in the middle of the ODAC in completions per game (14.5), passing efficiency (99.7) and completion percentage (.569). His favorite target, Brandon Anderson, ranks fourth in the ODAC with 4.5 receptions per game. 

SPECIAL TEAMS MATTER:  Bridgewater's special teams unit was one of the best in all of Division III in 2025 and 2026 has started much of the same. Aside from allowing a punt block against Susquehanna, BC ranks 25th in Div. III in net punting at 39.2 yards. Aiden Grefe paces the ODAC in punting and ranks 18th nationally, averaging 42.2 yards per boot. Tommy Nelson added to the special teams highlights against SU as he took a kickoff 92 yards to the house for BC's first touchdown of the season. Nelson leads the ODAC and ranks 14th in Div. III in kickoff returns with an average of 32.7 yards per attempt. The Eagles have struggled on defending returns, though. BC ranks outside of the top 100 nationally in both kick return and punt return defense.

SCOUTING THE COLONELS: Centre enters Saturday's matchup looking for its first win of the season after a pair of tight losses to open the season. The Colonels enter the weekend with just 14 points to their name on offense, but hold Div. III's  60th-best scoring defense, allowing just 16.5 points per game. The defense has been a strength for Centre through the opening two weeks as opponents are only scoring 66.7% of the time on red-zone trips. Opposing rushing attacks have been limited to 112.5 yards per game, but the Colonels' secondary is allowing 242.0 yards per game through the air to rank 180th in the nation. CC has gotten off the field well on third down, allowing conversions just 26.7% of the time and leading the SAA as they've given up just 34 first downs through two games. 

CENTRE HEAD COACH:  Andy Frye is in season 29 at the helm of the Colonels program, and has built a program enriched in tradition. Frye took over the program in 1998 and is now the winningest coach in the program's history with 185 victories to his name. Centre has made four appearances in the NCAA Div. III Playoffs under Frye, including in 2024 after winning a share of the SAA Crown. Frye has finished .500 or better in 21 straight seasons and has done so in all but two seasons during his tenure. A graduate of Muskingum, he served as the defensive coordinator and head wrestling coach at his alma mater before heading to Danville, Ky., in 1989. His coaching journey also included stops at Ohio University and Defiance College. 

THE KENTUCKY 448: The Eagles embark on their longest road trip since 2024's 846-mile trip to Mississippi to take on Millsaps. Prior to that, BC's longest trip was in 2017, just off Route 66 at Washington University in St. Louis, 748 miles away from the Shenandoah Valley. The Eagles picked up a 28-14 win at Millsaps in 2024, but fell in the shadow of the Arch 41-7. Centre's Andy Frye Stadium sits 448 miles away from the Stadium at the Jopson Athletic Complex and marks BC's first trip to the Blue Grass State since a 2017 visit to Thomas More. Bridgewater came back to the Old Dominion with a 25-23 victory.

WIN AT ALL COSTS: Bridgewater dropped its opening two contests of the campaign for the second-straight season following the loss to No. 23 Susquehanna before the bye week. The loss marks the first time since the 1998 and 1999 seasons that BC has opened its season with consecutive losses. The Eagles look to avoid a 0-3 start in consecutive seasons. The last time that happened was at the start of ODAC Hall of Fame Head Coach Mike Clark's tenure in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

FIRST TIME FOES: Bridgewater and Centre meet for the first time on Saturday. This weekend marks the first time BC takes on a first-time foe since 2024 and just the sixth time in the last decade. BC is 2-4 in those contests, with the two victories coming over Millsaps in 2024 and N.C. Wesleyan in 2018.