Blazer Gameday Central

GSC Weekly Release 

VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State football teams opens the 2018 season Saturday evening under the lights at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium versus Albany State.  Click below for complete game notes for the game and see the Blazer Gameday Central link above for all of the information on Saturday's matchup.


TONIGHT'S GAME

• The Blazers open their third year under the direction of Kerwin Bell, hosting rival Albany State Saturday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  After a lengthy preseason camp, which began in early August, the Blazers are ready to hit the field for the 2018 season.
• Saturday's matchup will mark the 20th time the Blazers have faced the Golden Rams and the fifth consecutive season in which VSU and ASU have squared off in a season opener.  Valdosta State is 17-2 all-time against Albany State. Though, ASU upset the Blazers 29-12 in Albany, Ga., last season, VSU had not lost to ASU since a 24-22 setback in the 2004 season-opener.   VSU is 11-2 all-time against Albany State in season-openers and 11-0 in Valdosta.  
• Season openers have been kind to the flame red and black as VSU holds a 24-12 opening day record.  Since its inception in 1982, the Valdosta State football program has outscored opponents 925-540 on opening day, while the team has won four of its last five openers.
• The Albany State game is the first of five scheduled home games and the annual neutral site matchup in the Okefenokee Classic, Sept. 8 in Waycross, Ga., against rival Fort Valley State.

• Valdosta State begins its 37th year of intercollegiate football and owns an overall record of 280 wins, 126 losses and four ties.
• Both the Blazers and the Golden Rams are among other teams receiving votes in the 2018 American Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll, released Aug. 13.  VSU is one of three teams receiving votes in the Gulf South Conference and five overall teams from the league either ranked or receiving votes.
• VSU head coach Kerwin Bell is 13-7 at Valdosta State in two seasons after enjoying a strong start in 2016 with an 8-3 record in his initial campaign and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. 
• The Blazers are 1-2 all-time playing on Sept. 1.  VSU is 1-0 on this date at home with a 41-3 win over Albany State in 2007, along with losses at Georgia Southern (1990, 17-10) and most recently at Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) in 2012 with a 28-24 setback.
• The Gulf South Conference Preseason poll saw the Blazers picked fifth, released by the league office earlier this month.  West Alabama was tabbed league favorite with 62 total points and six-of-nine first place votes.  
• The Blazers had five players named to the All-GSC Preseason Team in sophomore Kenny Benjamin, senior Jeremy King, senior Raymond Parker, senior Stewart Spence and sophomore Jairus Jones. 
• VSU will be featured twice this season on ESPN3 and the ESPN App as part of the ten-game GSC schedule: the Blazers' game at West Florida (5 p.m. ET/Nov. 3) and the regular season home finale, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m., against rival West Georgia at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. 

• VSU's .687 winning percentage all-time in 36 years of football is second nationally in Division II history. The Blazers are 280-126-4 all-time since 1982, while Grand Valley State leads in 47 years of football with a 388-138-3 record for a .736 percentage.  
• The Blazers own the Division II record for most consecutive games without being shutout as they have not been blanked in 314 games dating back to Sept. 14, 1991, in a 12-0 loss to Central Florida.
• Since 2000, the Blazers are an impressive 168-46 (.785) ranking third in NCAA Division II in total wins during that span.  Northwest Missouri State leads the way with a 200-34 record since the turn of the century, followed by Grand Valley State (199-36) and VSU at third.
• Valdosta State has had great success in non-conference games as the Blazers are 96-39-1 (.710, while going an impressive 57-14 at home in non-league games. 
• In 2017, the Blazers went 5-4 overall, but completed their 18th consecutive winning season and have had just five losing seasons in the history of the program dating back to 1982.  The last losing season came in 1999 (4-7).  
• VSU looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament after missing for the first time in 2017 since 2013.  The Blazers are 22-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with national championships in 2004, 2007 and 2012.
• Following Saturday's matchup, the Blazers will look forward to a matchup with Fort Valley State Sat., Sept. 8 at 7:05 p.m. in Waycross, Ga., for the Okefenokee Classic. Last year's classic was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma.
• The Blazers' matchup with Fort Valley State was recently chosen as a NCAA Division II Showcase game and will be broadcast on ESPN and the Watch ESPN App.  It will mark the first of three games on ESPN3 for the Blazers this season as the other two are part of the Gulf South Conference package.  Both of the Blazers' appearances for the Gulf South Conference package will be the final two games of the regular season at West Florida on Nov. 3, and Senior Day at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium Nov. 10 against rival West Georgia.
• VSU returns 12 starters and 29 letterwinners from last season, including both quarterbacks in redshirt senior Adam Robles and redshirt sophomore Rogan Wells. 
• Valdosta State has a long history playing against schools from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to the 19 games that the Blazers have played against Albany State, VSU has played 28 additional games versus the SIAC for a 42-5 record overall and a .894 winning percentage against the conference.

Valdosta State vs. Albany State 2018 Season-Opener Saturday, September 1, 2018 / 7:00 p.m.   Valdosta, Ga. / Bazemore-Hyder Stadium
Valdosta State Game Notes	Albany State Game Notes
Valdosta State Radio Broadcast	Albany State Radio Broadcast
Live Stats