VALDOSTA, Ga. - What a difference a week makes. Just when it looked like the Valdosta State football team was out of the playoff hunt, the Blazers traveled to Mississippi and handily defeated the then-ranked No. 19 Statesmen of Delta State. That win, along with Florida Tech's win over top-ranked West Alabama, have placed VSU right back in the thick of the Gulf South Conference race.
Valdosta State's resurgence began two weeks ago with a dominant 55-3 win over Mississippi College, and the momentum carried full force into the Delta State matchup, where the Blazers rolled into Cleveland and torched the Statesmen in a 34-13 victory. In the last two weeks, Valdosta State has found tremendous success in their running game. Led by senior Jordan Germany's average of 7.8 yards per carry, the Blazers have racked up 411 rushing yards over the last two games for an average of 205.5 yards per game and six total touchdowns. In contrast, the Black Swarm did not allow MC or DSU to score on the ground and under 300 yards of total offense, on average.
Another huge factor of success for the Blazer defense since the loss to West Georgia has been turnovers forced. All total, Valdosta State has forced seven turnovers in the last two games, including five interceptions and two fumbles recovered. Last week alone, the Blazers used those turnovers to account for 24 of the team's 34 points.
This weekend, the red and black will aim to avenge last year's difficult loss to Florida Tech, in which the Panthers took down VSU for the first time ever with a 38-20 victory in Melbourne, Fla. This year's showdown marks the fourth all-time between the two teams, with Valdosta State holding a 3-1 edge in the series. The Panthers will enter Saturday's contest with momentum of their own, thanks to a massive 41-39 upset of conference leading West Alabama Tigers. FIT's win over UWA marked the Tigers' first conference loss of the season.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with live audio provided at www.talk921.com. Links for all other forms of coverage, including live stats and a live video stream, are available below and on the main event page at www.vstateblazers.com.
The contest will also serve as our annual Think Pink game to help raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear both black and pink in effort to "Black Out" breast cancer. Other gameday activities and information, including parking and tailgating info, can be found by clicking on the Gameday Central banner located at the top of the page.
