BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Valdosta State junior quarterback Ivory Durham and senior defensive back Cory Roberts were named Gulf South Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Monday.  This is the second weekly honor for Durham and first for Robert's. 
 
It is the 11^th and 12^th weekly honors of the season for the Blazers as Roberts becomes the seventh different Blazer to earn a weekly award this season.  Durham earned the honor following the victory at Virginia Union (Sept. 11). He, graduate wide receiver Brian Saunds and junior Seth McGill have earned Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.  McGill has earned the honor twice this season and Saunds once.  
 
Durham, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., had another great game for the Blazers as he threw for two touchdowns and ran for two in the Blazers' thrilling 36-34 victory over No. 3 West Georgia Saturday evening.  Durham connected on 80 percent of his passes, going 19 of 23 for 212 yards and two scores.  He also rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries and two rushing touchdowns.  Durham finished the game with 284 total offense.   Late in the game with VSU leading 36-34, Durham scampered nine yards on a third and eight with just under two minutes left to pick up the first down to clinch the victory as UWG had no timeouts left at that point.  
 
For the season, Durham is 116 of 195 passing for 1615 yards and has tossed 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions.  He has run the ball 54 times for 496 yards and scored eight touchdowns on the ground.  Durham is 26^thnationally and second in the GSC in passing efficiency at a 153.1 clip, while he is third in the GSC in passing touchdowns (16).  Durham is 16^th nationally in points responsible for per game (18.0).  He is second in the GSC in rushing touchdowns and fourth in total offense at a 263.9 clip.
 
Roberts, finished the game with nine total tackles and eight solo stops, along with one pass breakup and a big interception in the game.  Roberts picked off the Harrison Frost pass in the second quarter with VSU leading 14-10 and the Blazers turned the miscue into a 21-10 lead.  It was Roberts' first interception of the season and the sixth of his career.  
 
This season, Roberts is second on the team in tackles with 47 along with 36 solo stops.  He has 2.5 tackles for loss for 14 yards, two sacks for 14 yards, the one interception, five pass breakups and two hurries in seven games played.  Roberts has played in 31 games for the red and black for his career with 17 starts.  He has 147 tackles with 92 solo stops, 5.5 tackles for loss for 16 yards, six interceptions for 55 yards, 16 pass breakups and one forced fumble.  

The No. 2-ranked Blazers close the 2021 home regular season slate Saturday 3 p.m. for Homecoming and Senior Day at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium versus North Greenville.  Tickets are on sale now by calling 229-333-7328 (SEAT).  
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on the game and links to live stats, audio/video streaming and more later in the week.