SETTING THE SCENE
The Valdosta State Blazers (4-5, 2-4 GSC) return home to host No. 8 West Florida in the Gulf South Conference regular season finale on Saturday at 7 p.m., at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  VSU enters following a thrilling 58-37 victory at North Greenville last Saturday, while the Argonauts enter with a 7-1 mark overall and a 5-1 record in league play and have won five-straight games.
 
SETTING THE GSC WEEKLY SCENE
Delta State sits atop the league standings with a 9-0 record overall and a 6-0 mark in the GSC.  The Statesmen are assured of at least a tie for the conference title, while DSU can win the league outright with a win Saturday over West Georgia and a VSU victory over West Florida.  West Georgia is third in the standings with a 4-2 mark in league play and a 6-2 record overall.  Mississippi College is 3-3 in the league and 4-5 overall and travels to West Alabama Saturday, who is one of three teams 2-4 in league play, along with VSU and North Greenville.  UWA is 4-5 overall this season also.  Shorter (0-6, 2-7 overall) entertains North Greenville (2-4, 3-6 overall).  VSU can finish as high as tied for fourth with a win Saturday or as low as seventh based on how the rest of the league fairs.  
 
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.  In addition, Dave Garner and Taylor Biddle will have the call of all home games this season on the webstream, which can be accessed at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
THOMPKINS CLOSING IN ON VSU RUSHING RECORD
With 109 yards on the ground in the win at North Greenville last Saturday, VSU senior running back Jamar Thompkins is just 126 yards from breaking the school-record of 4,115 career rushing yards held by former Blazer standout Cedric O'Neal (2012-2015).  Thompkins has 519 carries for 3,989 yards with 34 rushing scores and an average of 7.7 yards per rush.   Thompkins is fourth in school history in rushing touchdowns (34), while he is eighth in scoring with 222 points on 37 total touchdowns.  Thompkins' 3,989 yards are good for fifth all-time in GSC history.
 
40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON
Saturday's game marks the 40th Anniversary Game for the Blazers as first head coach Jim Goodman, along with numerous players from his tenure are back in Titletown this weekend. Goodman was hired in 1981 and put together a team in ten months and the inaugural team went 5-5-1 in 1982, including a stunning upset victory versus Troy State in the first Blazer home game in front of a crowd of over 9,300.  Goodman coached for the Blazers for three seasons (1982-1984), before becoming Athletic Director in 1985.  Coach Goodman, thank you for your work in laying the foundation for Blazer Football and welcome home!
 
TALLEY AND GAYDEN HONORED
Blazer graduate students Michael Gayden and Victor Talley earned GSC Player of the Week honors after standout performances last week in the thrilling 58-37 victory at North Greenville.  Gayden was named Defensive Player of the Week after helping hold NGU under 100 yards on the ground in the game (99) and he finished with four total tackles – two solo stops, 1.5 tackles for loss for five yards, one sack for three yards, one quarterback hurry and his first interception as a Blazer.  Talley had six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, as the two touchdowns marked a season-high as did his six receptions.  Talley also had one punt return for 18 yards and blocked a punt as sophomore teammate Council Allen recovered the blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.
 
ALL-PURPOSE MCGILL
Along with Thompkins in the backfield, the Blazers also utilize senior Seth McGill who is second on the team in rushing with 661 rushing yards.  McGill has four rushing touchdowns in a team-high 116 carries, while he is ninth nationally and second in the GSC in all-purpose yards at 160.89 per game.  McGill is fourth in the GSC in kickoff return yards at 24.2 yards per return.  For McGill's storied career, he is fifth all-time in rushing yards with 3,212 and 41 rushing touchdowns are good for second all-time in program history.  McGill is sixth all-time in scoring with 264 points on 44 total touchdowns and has thrown two touchdowns this season on a perfect 2 for 2 passing.  He also has 43 kickoff returns for 1085 yards and leads the school record book at 25.2 yards per kick return.   
 
ON THIS DATE
The Blazers are 2-2-1 all-time on November 5 and last played on this date in 2016 with a 37-22 victory at West Alabama.  VSU is 1-1 at home on this date and 1-1-1 on the road.  VSU downed Kentucky State on this date in 1983 with a 32-20 victory in Valdosta, marking the first game on this date in program history.  
 
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.  

 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH WEST FLORIDA
The Blazers are 4-2 all-time against West Florida, winning the first four matchups, while the Argos have won the last two, including a 61-42 win last season in Pensacola, Fla., and won a 38-35 heartbreaker in the NCAA Second Round in 2019 in Valdosta.  VSU is 2-1 at home against West Florida. 
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Blazers are 20th nationally in passing offense at 277.6 yards per game for second in the GSC, while the team is 18th nationally in rushing offense at 210.2 yards per game for fourth in the league.  The Blazers are 16th nationally in scoring offense at 38.0 points per game for fourth in the league, while they are fifth nationally and second in the league in total offense at 487.8 yards per game.  VSU is 11th nationally and second in the league in red zone offense at a 0.905 clip, while the team is third nationally in sacks allowed with just three all season for a 0.33 clip and second in the GSC.  VSU is 19th nationally in tackles for loss allowed at 4.33 per game for fifth in the league.  The Blazers are tied for the league-lead in blocked kicks with four for 28th nationally.
 
DURHAM RANKS HIGH
Senior quarterback Ivory Durham has had another outstanding season as he is eighth nationally in passing touchdowns (24) to lead the league, while he is 14th nationally in passing yards (2,384) for best in the GSC, 17th nationally in passing yards per game (264.9) for second in the league, 16th nationally in passing yards per completion (14.72) for second in the league, while he is tenth nationally in total offense at 309.9 yards per game for tops in the league.  Durham is 16-7 as a starting quarterback for his career and is third in school history in total offense yards with 8,599, while he is seventh in completions (445) and fifth in passing touchdowns (66).  He is tied for sixth in rushing touchdowns (26) as Durham is 445 of 780 all-time passing with 19 interceptions and 6,418 yards for fifth all-time.
 
GOOD FROM THIELE
Sophomore kicker Estin Thiele is fourth nationally in field goals per game at a 1.44 clip for tops in the GSC.  He is fourth in the league in field goal percentage at a 0.722 clip making 13 of 18 field goals this year and 37 of 38 in extra-points.  Thiele has 26 kickoffs for 1667 yards and 21 punts for 757 yards and a 36.0 average.  For his career, Thiele is 27 of 36 in field goals and 110 of 112 in extra-points for 191 points.  He is just 11 points shy of the top ten all-time in school history in scoring (202).
 
A VICTORY OVER WEST FLORIDA WOULD . . .