Football 2025 PSAC Preseason Poll

Football Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Golden Knights Picked to Finish Fourth in Western Division in PSAC Preseason Poll

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference today released its 2025 PSAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll. For the fourth straight year Gannon is picked to finish fourth in the Western Division by the division coaches.
 
Slippery Rock edged Indiana (Pa.) as the 2025 Western Division preseason favorite and repeats as the preseason favorite. After reaching the Division II semifinals a year ago and finishing at 12-2 overall SRU earned four of a possible seven first-place votes.
 
IUP garnered the other three first-place votes. The Crimson Hawks finished at 7-3 a year ago. Last year's PSAC West champion, California (Pa.), was picked to finish third in the division. The Vulcans fell to Kutztown in the PSAC Championship game and finished at 10-3 while earning a berth in the NCAA Playoffs.
 
Gannon was picked to finish fourth in the Western Division with Seton Hill fifth and Edinboro sixth. Clarion rounded out the division in seventh place. All three teams finished at 3-8 last year.
 
Head coach Erik Raeburn, who enters his sixth season at the helm, is philosophical about Gannon's place in the rankings. "The preseason polls are fun for fans but the only thing that matters is where you finish," he stressed. "Our conference is brutally hard and it will be a challenge every week."
 
Defending PSAC champion Kutztown is the Eastern Division preseason favorite. The Golden Bears received seven first-place votes after ending the year at 11-1. East Stroudsburg (10-2) captured the other first place vote and was picked to finish second.
 
West Chester (4-6) and Shepherd (6-5) are third and fourth in the Eastern Division with Bloomsburg (6-5) rounding out the top five. Lock Haven (5-6) is sixth, with Shippensburg (2-9) seventh and Millersville (1-10) completing the Eastern Division poll.
 
2025 Schedule Features Plenty of Challenges
A year ago head coach Erik Raeburn's Golden Knights finished in a tie for third place with Indiana (Pa.) at 3-3. They finished a deceiving 3-7 overall after opening the year with four straight losses. The slow getaway was a biproduct of an arduous early-season schedule that saw the Golden Knights play three teams that qualified for the NCAA playoffs.
 
Not much will change in 2025 as far as the early season schedule. Raeburn's squad faces an extremely demanding schedule featuring four NCAA Playoff teams and seven teams that won seven-or-more games. The combined record for the opponents in the first five games is 47-13, beginning with the 2025 opener against Davenport (7-4) on August 30 at McConnell Family Stadium before traveling to Saginaw Valley State (7-4).
 
Then comes three straight games against NCAA Playoff teams (East Stroudsburg, Kutztown and Slippery Rock). The SRU game marks the start of Western Division play with Cal and IUP waiting in November.
 
New-Look Squad Awaits in 2025
The 2025 season will definitely have a new look as Raeburn reworked the roster. The offense, in particular, will be rebuilt, with just three starters returning. Most noticeable will be the absence of quarterback Jayden Whitaker (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), the PSAC West Freshman of the Year, who entered the transfer portal after the season. Whitaker threw for 2,113 yards, accounting for 18 of Gannon's 22 touchdowns.
 
The defense was so ravaged by injuries that 16 different players started at least three games. Six starters return to the unit, but the most experienced are Sir Giles (St. Cloud, Fla./Tohopekaliga) and Serrell Curtis (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis). Each started eight games in the secondary last year. Four of the top six tacklers have departed.
 
Tank a Force on Offense
 
The top returning performer on offense is wide receiver Donell "Tank" Mason. The senior earned second team All-PSAC West honors after catching 49 passes for 769 yards and 3 TDs. He enters his senior season ranked sixth in career receptions (115) and career receiving yards (1,715).
   
Curtis Provides the D, Costa Top Special Teams Performer
 
With the top three tacklers departing defensive back Serrell Curtis (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) is the top returning tackler. The redshirt sophomore appeared in and started eight games in the secondary before missing the final three games with an injury. He finished fourth on the team in tackles with 52, including 28 solo, and had four TFL along with an interception.
 
Bryson Costa (Windber, Pa./Windber Area) came in and immediately took over both the placekicking and punting chores as a freshman. He was accorded first team D2CCA All-Super Region 1 honors and second team All-PSAC West accolades, both at punter, after leading the PSAC and ranked 11th in Division II in punting with a school-record average of 43.6 yards on 39 punts. He had 13 punts of 50-or-more yards. In addition, he made 17-of-20 extra point attempts and 6-of-8 field goals with a long of 45 and 44 yards.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jayden Whitaker

#9 Jayden Whitaker

QB
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
Bryson Costa

#33 Bryson Costa

PK
6' 0"
Sophomore
Serrell Curtis

#5 Serrell Curtis

DB
6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
Sir Giles

#2 Sir Giles

DB
6' 1"
Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

Jayden Whitaker

#9 Jayden Whitaker

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
Bryson Costa

#33 Bryson Costa

6' 0"
Sophomore
PK
Serrell Curtis

#5 Serrell Curtis

6' 1"
Redshirt Sophomore
DB
Sir Giles

#2 Sir Giles

6' 1"
Redshirt Junior
DB