BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College football team hits the road to take on No. 4 Susquehanna on Saturday.

When: Saturday, September 13, 2025
Where: Selinsgrove, Pa.
Stadium: Amos Alonzo Stagg Field
Kickoff: 12:00 pm 
Gameday Forecast: Mostly Clear, 76F
        0% Chance of rain
Series Record: Susquehanna leads, 3-1

WELCOME 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 took a year away from football to attempt to qualify for the 2028 Summer Olympics in powerlifting, but returned to the program for his senior season. The former D3football.com All-American tallied 4.5 tackles for loss and led Bridgewater with nine tackles, including eight solo stops, each of which paces the ODAC. Nice's 4.5 TFL tied for the second most in a single game in program history behind his program record 6.5 TFL in a win over Guilford in 2022.  For his efforts, the Stuarts Draft product was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.

BROWNE CAN DO IT ALL:  Bridgewater wide receiver Ian Browne was named the ODAC Offensive Player of the Week after tallying BC's first three scores in week one against Stevenson. Browne rushed in from six yards out on a double reverse to open the scoring and added a pair of catches for touchdowns to his ledger in the first half. Browne registered 10 catches for 123 yards in the season opener under the lights. Both marks lead the ODAC after one slate of contests.

THE DARKSIDE: The Bridgewater defense opened the season standing strong on third down. BC put up the ODAC's second-best mark on third downs a week ago, allowing Stevenson to convert just 25.0% of the time. The Eagles also allowed just 11 first downs on Saturday to rank 23rd in the division. BC is also slotted 52nd in Division III in total defense, as they limited Stevenson to 235 total yards on Saturday in the loss.

SPECIAL TEAMS MATTER:  The Bridgewater special teams unit continued to be one of the nation's best one week into the 2025 season. After the opening week, Brendan Robinson ranks 19th in Division III in kick returns, averaging 32.3 yds per return. Tate Leach leads the ODAC after week one and ranks eighth in the country as he averages 15.0 yards per punt return. Aiden Grefe made a splash in his first contest as BC's primary punter as the junior pinned Stevenson inside its own 10-yard line twice and leads the ODAC, averaging 41.2 yards per punt. Toss in a Kyle Beer PAT block a week ago and zero punt return yards given up, and the Eagles' special teams unit continues to be one of the best in all of Division III. 

SCOUTING THE RIVER HAWKS: Susquehanna opened 2025 with a dominant 33-14 victory over Union (NY) on Saturday. The River Hawks had success on the ground as Tommy Grabowski rushed for 88 yards and a score to go along with 82 yards from starting quarterback Josh Ehrlich. Erhlich had an efficient day in the air, tossing for 226 yds on 17 completions. The real calling card for SU in week one was the rushing defense. Susquehanna allowed just 20 yards on the ground to rank 13th in Division III in week one. The River Hawks' defense was also successful in the red zone in the opening weekend, as they did not allow a score from inside the 20 to tie for the national lead. 

SUSQUEHANNA HEAD COACH: Tom Perkovich is in his 10th season leading the River Hawks, dating back to 2015. Perkovich has led Susquehanna to three conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure, including an NCAA Semifinal appearance last season. SU has gone 74-22 in his time on campus, including going unbeaten in conference play over the last three seasons.

EXPERIENCE WINS GAMES: Susquehanna returns a core group in all facets of the game from a season ago. The easiest to point out is redshirt-junior QB Josh Ehrlich, who can change the game both through the air and on the ground, but four of the River Hawks' five projected starting offensive linemen are upperclassmen, including a pair of seniors on the right side. The defense is projected to have just one starter who is not an upperclassman, including all three linemen being seniors. This means most of the SU starters have lost just one regular-season game, and many of them have not lost a conference game in their time playing for coach Perkovich. 

BOUNCING BACK: The Bridgewater College football team looks to bounce back after dropping its third season opener in as many seasons. In second games of the season, BC has bounced back in both of those seasons with wins over Southern Virginia each time. Under head coach Scott Lemn, BC is 4-0 in second games of the season as well.

REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS: Susquehanna has won 30 of its last 31 regular-season games, including a pair of victories over Bridgewater. The River Hawks had their regular-season winning streak snapped last season, but won their final seven regular-season contests and moved that run to eight in a row with a 33-14 victory over Union College to open the season. 

RANKED CONTESTS: The Eagles look to get their first win over a ranked opponent in some time as they take on a Susquehanna squad that was in the preseason top-five in both Division III polls. BC has been a combined 0-4 against ranked opponents over the last two seasons, with those losses coming to Randolph-Macon and Susquehanna during that time period. BC has been outscored 179-45 in those four contests.