SETTING THE SCENE
The Valdosta State Blazers (3-4, 1-3 GSC) head to Carrollton, Ga., for the annual Peach Basket Game against No. 25 West Georgia Saturday at 6 p.m. at University Stadium.  The game also is part of the Red Clay Rivalry.
 
FOR THE PEACH BASKET 
The Blazers lead the all-time series with UWG 28-13 and 11-9 in Carrollton.  VSU has won the last four meetings in the series, including twice in 2021 both in Valdosta.  VSU snapped a three-game skid in Carrollton with a 42-14 victory there in 2019.  UWG's last victory in the series came on Oct. 7, 2017, in Carrollton with a 42-13 victory. 
 
RED CLAY RIVALRY SERIES
The 2022-23 season marks the second year of the Red Clay Rivalry Series between Valdosta State and West Georgia in each sport sponsored by both institutions.  The Blazers won 7-4 in the inaugural season.  So far in 2022-23, UWG leads 1.5-0 with wins in women's soccer and the first of two meetings in volleyball.  
 
FLOSPORTS
The Gulf South Conference enters its second year of a four-year agreement with FloSports to broadcast all GSC football games this fall.  ALL VSU football home regular season and road conference livestream broadcasts will be available exclusively through FloSports. Fans can purchase a monthly membership for $19.99 or an annual subscription for $150 ($12.50/month).  The yearly membership is a saving of nearly $90.  Subscribe to FloSports at www.flosports.tv/gulfsouth.  The membership will include:

 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long with Spencer Van Horn and Wade Beale having the call.  Fans also can access the broadcast at www.talk921.com.  Links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more can be found on at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.     
 
LOOKING TO SNAP A SKID 
The Blazers enter the week on a three-game skid, marking the first time losing three-straight games in a season since 2013.  It also marks the first time of losing three-straight games during the regular season since 2011.  The Blazers began the season 3-1.  
 
THIS WEEK IN THE GSC
Looking at the GSC standings this week, No. 8 Delta State looks to remain unbeaten as it travels to Shorter for a Thursday matchup at 7 p.m., while North Greenville travels to West Alabama for a 5 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday.  Upstart Mississippi College travels to No. 9 West Florida for a 5 p.m. ET kick also on Saturday, one hour before the Blazers and Wolves matchup at 6 p.m.  DSU leads the standings with a 4-0 record and is the lone unbeaten team in the league at 7-0 overall.  West Florida and Mississippi College each are 3-1 in league play, while West Georgia and West Alabama are 2-2. VSU and North Greenville are 1-3 in league play and Shorter sits at 0-4.  
 
ON THIS DATE
The Blazers are 5-2 all-time on Oct. 22 and have played UWG once on this date in the very first meeting between the two teams in 1983 in Columbus, Ga., with a 20-13 VSU victory.  The Blazers are 1-0 in neutral site games on this date, while going 2-1 both at home and on the road.  VSU won 56-27 in Valdosta in 2016 versus Delta State for the last game on this date, while the Blazers won 37-22 at Shorter the year prior for the last road game on this date.  
 
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
UWG enters with a No. 25 designation by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), while it isn't in the new D2Football.com Top 25.  UWG is the second ranked team VSU has played this season as Delta State was No. 21 earlier this season.  VSU is 71-63-2 all-time against ranked teams, but is 26-34-1 on the road against ranked foes.  The Blazers and the Wolves have met 12 times when at least one team is ranked and VSU is 1-2 when just UWG has been ranked.  Overall in the 12 ranked meetings, VSU leads 7-5.  
 
VERSUS A FORMER COACH
Two-time national champion former Blazer football coach David Dean is in his sixth season at UWG with a 38-16 record.  He is 117-43 in his 15th season of coaching, while he was 79-27 in nine seasons in Titletown with a national championship in 2007 and again in 2012.  Dean coached at VSU from 2007 to 2015 and now is 1-4 at UWG versus Valdosta State.  
 
ABOUT WEST GEORGIA
The Wolves enter with a 4-2 record overall and a 2-2 mark in the GSC.  UWG won 38-35 in come-from-behind fashion last weekend at North Greenville.  The Wolves used an 18-play, 81-yard drive of over seven minutes for a Jaxton Carson touchdown run with 4:24 left in the game for the seventh lead change in the contest.  The Wolves trailed 28-17 with nine minutes left in the third quarter, before outscoring UNG 21-7 down the stretch in a wild contest featuring two pick-sixes by UNG and four interceptions by UWG.  The Wolves held a 569-364 advantage in total yardage as quarterback Harrison Frost went 29 of 45 passing for 418 yards and two touchdowns.  Carson led the way on the ground with 21 carries for 110 yards and two rushing scores, while wide receiver Ronnie Blackmon has six receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns.  Defensively Xavier Robinson had 14 tackles, including eight solo stops and 1.5 tackles for loss for five yards.  Nationally speaking, the Wolves are 15th in total offense at 453.3 yards per game, while they are 36th and tops in the GSC in total defense, holding teams to 299.5 yards per game.  UWG is second in the league in scoring defense allowing 21.7 points per game, while the team is 22nd nationally and second in the league in third down conversion defense, holding teams to a 0.300 clip.  The Wolves are allowing 100 first downs for the season for 20th nationally and tops in the GSC, while they have recovered seven fumbles for 21st nationally and tops in the league.  Individually, quarterback Harrison Frost is third in the GSC in passing yards with 1,608 for 29th nationally, while he is averaging 268.0 yards per game passing for second in the league and 15th nationally.  Blazer quarterback Ivory Durham leads the league in both passing yards (1,899) and passing yards per game at a 271.3 average.  Carson lead the league in rushing touchdowns with 11 for seventh nationally, while he is fourth in the league in rushing yards per game at a 84.2 clip and has scored 66 points for 11th nationally and second in the league.  Blackmon leads the GSC in yards per reception at 21.00 for 14th nationally.
 
NO SACKS
There probably won't be many sacks on Saturday evening as West Georgia leads the nation in fewest sacks allowed at a 0.17 clip, while VSU is second nationally at a 0.29 clip.  UWG has allowed one sack this season and the Blazers have allowed two.  Last season, VSU led the nation in fewest sacks, allowing just four all season in 14 games.  
 
GUARDIAN BANK PLAYERS OF THE GAME
This season each game a number of players will be selected as the Guardian Bank Players of the Game.  Below is the list of each Guardian Bank Players of the Game from each contest this season.  

 
WHERE THE BLAZERS STAND NATIONALLY
The Blazers enter third nationally in total offense at 506.0 yards per game to lead the conference.  VSU is fifth nationally in red zone offense at a 0.939 clip for second in the league, while it is ninth nationally and second in the league in tackles for loss allowed at just 3.71 per game.  The Blazers are 15th nationally in rushing offense at 225.6 yards per game, while they are 17th nationally and lead the league in passing offense at 280.4 yards per game.  Individually, senior quarterback Ivory Durham leads the conference in passing touchdowns (8th nationally/19), passing yards (12th nationally/1,899) and passing yards per game at a 271.3 clip for 13th nationally.  He is fifth nationally in total offense at 325.6 yards per game.  Durham also leads the league in points responsible for (5th nationally/136) and points responsible for per game at a 19.4 average for sixth nationally.  Sophomore kicker Estin Thiele is second nationally in field goals per game at a 1.71 clip to lead the league, while he is second in the GSC and 27th nationally in field goal percentage at a .750 clip on 12 of 16 for the season.  Thiele is 17th nationally in scoring at 9.3 points per game for third in the GSC.  Senior running back Seth McGill is tenth nationally in all-purpose yards at 160.29 to lead the league, while he is 13th nationally in combined kick returns with 491 yards to lead the league.  Senior teammate Jamar Thompkins is 11th nationally and second in the GSC in rush yards per carry at a 6.83 average, while McGill is third in the league and 15th nationally at a 6.65 clip.  Senior wide receiver B.K. Smith leads the GSC in receiving yards with 526, while he is second in the league in receiving yards per game at a 75.1 clip and is second in the league in receiving touchdowns with five.
 
STARTING FAST
The last two games, the Blazers have started fast and gotten out to leads early in the contest, but were unable to hang onto the advantages.  VSU led 14-7 over West Alabama on Oct. 8, before a 34-31 loss and led 10-7 over Mississippi College last Saturday before a 49-40 setback on Homecoming.  For the season, VSU has outscored the opposition 43-35 in the first quarter.  For the season, the Blazers have outscored the opposition by 11 points - 267-256 and have outscored in three of the four quarters.  VSU has edged the opposition 73-62 in the third quarter and 94-49 in the fourth quarter, but the opponents lead 110-57 in the second quarter leading to VSU trailing at halftime in six of the seven games this season.
 
OVER 600
Saturday marked the second time this season of over 600 yards of total offense for the Blazers with 622 for the game.  VSU had 700 at Miles College on Sept. 17 for the second-most in program history.  Overall, VSU has three games of 500 or more yards and six of 400 or more yards.  
 
DURHAM OVER 100
For the second time this season, senior quarterback Ivory Durham went over 100 yards on the ground as he had 113 yards at Miles College on Sept. 17 and tallied 115 yards and a touchdown Saturday.  Durham threw three touchdown passes against Mississippi College on Saturday marking the first time this season he has thrown at least one touchdown and ran for one.  For his career, Durham has played in 46 games with 21 starts and is 15-6 as a starting quarterback.  He is tenth all-time in program history in career rushing yards with 2,154 on 262 carries, while he is seventh all-time in rushing touchdowns with 25.  As a passer, Durham is sixth all-time in passing yards with 5,933 on 416 of 722 passing with 18 interceptions.  He has 61 passing touchdowns for fifth all-time, while his 416 completions put him fifth all-time.  Durham sits third all-time in total offense with 8,087 yards on 984 plays.  He is 975 total offense yards behind Rogan Wells (2017-2019) with 9,062.
 
MCGILL MOVES UP
Senior running back Seth McGill is fifth all-time in school history in career rushing yards with 3,210 on 513 carries.  He is second all-time is rushing touchdowns with 40, while he is sixth all-time in scoring with 43 total touchdowns for 258 points.  McGill has played in 46 games with 18 starts for his career.  He has caught 77 passes for 564 yards and three receiving touchdowns.  He 4,633 all-purpose yards for his career.
 
THOMPKINS THIRD
Senior running back Jamar Thompkins is third all-time in school history in rushing yards with 3,806.  He is just 53 yards away from catching Aaron Jenkins (2000-03) for second all-time in school history in career rushing yards, while Cedric O'Neal's school-record of 4,115 set from 2012-2015 is within reach as well.  Thompkins is fifth all-time in school history in rushing touchdowns with 33, while he is eighth all-time in career scoring with 36 total touchdowns and 216 points.  
 
B.K. MONEY
Senior receiver B.K. Smith had a season-high 148 yards and a touchdown on five catches on Saturday versus Mississippi College.  He leads the team with 32 receptions for 526 yards and five touchdowns for a 75.1 average.  
 
GOOD OVER 90
The Blazers had two scoring drives of over 90 yards on Saturday against Mississippi College.  The first came in the second quarter as VSU went 91 yards on three plays for46 seconds capped with a 20-yard touchdown catch from senior Victor Talley.  On the final drive of the game, VSU went 99 yards on three plays for 44 seconds, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jeffery to pull within nine at 49-40 with three seconds to play.  Two of the top four longest plays of the season came during the 90-plus drives as Durham scampered 75 yards and Smith caught a 64-yard pass.  The 75-yard run by Durham tied the season-long yardage gain as sophomore Council Allen had a 75-yard touchdown reception at Miles College on Sept. 17. 
 
HUNGRY HURST
VSU freshman wide receiver Ted Hurst caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season on the first possession of the game against West Alabama on Oct. 8.  For the season, Hurst has eight receptions for 174 yards and four touchdowns with a long of 55.  
 
VICTOR'S VISION
Senior Victor Talley had a season-high five catches for 114 yards and a touchdown against West Alabama on Oct. 8.  Talley scored on a 39-yard strike from Ivory Durham giving VSU a 24-20 lead in the third quarter.  For the season, Talley has 26 catches for 360 yards and four touchdowns.
 
BLOCK PARTY
The Blazers have three blocks this season to tie for the most in the GSC and 16th nationally.  VSU came up with two huge blocks - one a field goal from senior Javiontae Martin in the first half to preserve a 10-0 deficit at the time in the second quarter and then on a blocked extra-point from sophomore Sean Colman at Shorter on Sept. 24.  The Blazers then had a blocked punt last weekend versus West Alabama as Akil Lampley recovered the block in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead just 3:53 into the game.  VSU's last blocked punt for a touchdown before last Saturday came Dec. 8, 2018, as Jamar Thompkins returned the block 84 yards against Notre Dame College in the NCAA National Semifinal game.  
 
BILLUPS WITH THE PICK
Redshirt freshman defensive back Jordan Billups came up with a huge 65-yard interception return in the second half of the Blazers' 34-30 victory at Shorter on Sept. 24.  It was Billups' first career INT and the fifth of the season for the Blazers.  
 
STRONG AGAINST THE GSC
Over the 39-plus years of football at VSU, the Blazers have done well against the GSC and has a winning record against every current GSC foe except Delta State who now leads the series 21-19-1.  The Blazers are 207-91-3 all-time against the GSC.  The 207 victories are most in GSC history among current members and second-most all-time behind 219 from North Alabama.  
 
THIELE NAMED TO FRED MITCHELL AWARD WATCH LIST
Following his outstanding start to the season, sophomore kicker Estin Thiele has been named to the September Watch List of the Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award, which annually goes to the top place-kicker from FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA in January.  This month, 17 place-kickers were announced including Thiele.  In all, five of the 17 were from NCAA Division II institutions.  This season, Thiele is 10of 12 in field goals with a long of 45 and 22 of 23 in extra-points for 52 total points.  Thiele is second nationally in field goals per game at a 2.25 clip, while he is 19th nationally in field goal percentage at an .833 average.  He is second nationally in field goals per game at a 2.00 clip, while he is 11th nationally in scoring at 10.4 points per game to lead the league.  For his career at VSU, he has scored 167 points.  
 
THE 700 CLUB
The Blazers tallied 700 yards of offense on Sept. 17 at Miles College, marking the second highest output in school history.  VSU tallied the school-record of 719 yards of offense against West Georgia (Nov. 27, 2021) in the NCAA playoffs.  The 700 yards is the most in the regular season since the red and black had 671 yards at Shorter on Sept. 28, 2019.  The 700 yards is the most in the NCAA so far this season in Division II and VSU is one of seven institutions with a game of 700 yards of offense across all three divisions.  Moreover, the 700 yards is good for eighth-best all-time in Gulf South Conference history, as VSU currently is third nationally this week at 506.0 yards per game.
 
DURHAM FOR SIX
Durham tossed a career-high six touchdown passes at Miles College on Sept. 17, tying for the most in a single game this season in NCAA Division II with four others.  He also had five touchdown passes versus Virginia Union (Sept. 10).  Durham finished the game 14 of 27 passing for 359 yards, the six TDs and no interceptions, while he had ten rushes for 113 yards.  Durham's six tosses marked the most since former Blazer Rogan Wells threw six in the national championship game in 2018 against Ferris State.  The six tosses at Miles College tied Durham for seventh all-time in GSC history as former Blazers Chris Hatcher (2) and Dusty Bonner each tossed seven TDs in a game, which is the league record, achieved six times in league history.   
 
D2FOOTBALL.COM HIGHLIGHTS DURHAM
In addition to his GSC Player of the Week accolade, Durham also was named D2Football.com Offensive Player of the Week, marking the second Blazer to earn the honor this season as sophomore kicker Estin Thiele earned D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week honors, following the first week of the season.  Durham also was named Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athlete of the of the Week.
 
40TH YEAR
The 2022 season marks the 40th playing season of Blazer football.  The program is 319-133-4 all-time (.706) and has just four losing seasons in the history of the program.  VSU has 32 winning seasons and has won double-digit games 12 times, including a school-record 14 victories in 2002 and 2018.  The Blazers have won four national championships and appeared in six national title games - all since 2002.  The Blazers are 29-14 all-time in the NCAA postseason in 18 appearances as the four national titles are tied with Grand Valley State for third-most in NCAA Division II history and tie for second among active Division II programs (Northwest Missouri State, 6).  The 29 NCAA postseason victories are good for fifth-most all-time in D2 and third-most among active D2 members (Northwest Missouri State, 52 / Grand Valley State, 36).  
 
NO SHUTOUTS
The Blazers lead all of NCAA Division II with 360 consecutive games without being shutout dating back to a 12-0 loss to Central Florida on Sept. 14, 1991.  VSU only has been shut out five times in program history.  Grand Valley is just behind the Blazers at over 350 games without a shutout.
 
A HISTORY OF SUCCESS
The Blazers have had an outstanding 39+ years of football since the program began in 1982.  The Blazers have the second-highest winning percentage all-time in NCAA Division II with a 319-133-4 record (.706) behind Grand Valley State (423-143-3) with a .741 clip.  VSU went 88-27 from 2010-2019 for a .765 average which is good for eighth in NCAA Division II for the decade.
 
A VICTORY OVER WEST GEORGIA WOULD . . .