SETTING THE SCENE
The Valdosta State Blazers close out the 2023 regular season road slate with a 2 p.m. ET kick on Saturday, Nov. 4 at West Alabama.  The Blazers enter with an 8-1 record overall and a 5-1 mark in GSC play, while West Alabama is 4-4 overall and 3-3 in league play.  
 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long with Mike McDowd having the call an Herb Reinhard providing color commentary.  The game also will be streamed live on FloSports.  Fans can access links to the radio broadcast and video broadcast at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
WATCH ON 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.  Check back with vstateblazers.com on how to sign up and watch on FloSports.
 
CARDIAC BLAZERS
The Valdosta State football team won arguably the biggest game of head coach Tremaine Jackson's tenure with a thrilling 31-28 victory at No. 8/18 West Florida last Saturday.  VSU trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter and had just six plays for zero yards in the first quarter of the game.  Despite being on the short end of just about every statistical category, the Blazers were on the right end of the scoreboard with the victory.  VSU recorded its first defensive touchdown of the Jackson era as graduate student Jacob Harris returned a fumble three yards for the first Blazer score early in the second quarter, which was a big turning point in the game as UWF had all of the momentum to that point.  VSU then tied the game at 14 and then again at 21 through the first half.  Neither team scored in the second half and UWF took a 28-21 lead early in the fourth.  Senior kicker Estin Thiele connected on a 48-yard field goal and then the Blazers had a huge defensive stand on fourth down late in the game for a last chance drive.  VSU went 11 plays for 77 yards over 3:25 of clock time as junior Sammy Edwards hit sophomore Ted Hurst for a 28-yard touchdown with 36 seconds remaining for a 31-28 lead, marking the first lead of the game for VSU.  UWF moved down field and Griffin Cerra missed a 51-yard potential tying field goal as time expired.  VSU had 272 yards of offense in the game (275 passing, -3 rushing), while UWF had 444 yards, but the Blazers turned the Argos over twice, scored a defensive touchdown and made the stops when they needed for the victory.  Harris finished with a career-high 14 total tackles, while graduate student Nick Jackson had eight solo stops and one interception.  Offensively, Edwards went 20 of 32 passing for 275 yards, one touchdown, while he also ran for a score.  Graduate student B.K. Smith had eight catches for 151 yards.  The win gave VSU a 5-3 record all-time against West Florida and snapped a three-game skid against the Argos.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH WEST ALABAMA
Valdosta State leads the all-time series with West Alabama, 35-6.  UWA snapped a three-game winning streak by the Blazers with the 34-31 victory in Valdosta last year.  It was UWA's third win all-time in Valdosta in 22 meetings (19-3), while VSU is 16-3 in Livingston, Ala.  The Blazers have won five-straight in Livingston, dating back to a 49-30 loss on Oct. 10, 2013.  VSU won 42-17 in Livingston on Oct. 16, 2021.
 
FIRST SEEDED REGION RANKINGS ANNOUNCED 
The first seeded region rankings were announced by the NCAA on Monday and the Blazers checked in at third in Super Region Two.  Benedict headlined the region rankings, followed by Delta State, VSU, West Florida, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill and Fayetteville State was seventh.  West Georgia was eighth, followed by Fort Valley State and Virginia Union rounded out the top ten. There will be one more public ranking next Monday prior to the NCAA Division II Football Championship Selection Show, scheduled for the evening of Nov. 12.  This year's bracket will feature the top seven teams announced on Nov. 12.  The top team in the region will get a "bye" for the first round, while Nos. 2-4 seeds will host Nos. 5-7, on Nov. 18 for the first round.  The second round is scheduled for Nov. 25, while the third round is set for Dec. 2 and the national semifinals are Dec. 9. 
 
NATIONAL COMPARISON SNAPSHOT

 
THIS WEEK IN THE GSC
For Week Ten in the Gulf South Conference, Shorter visits North Greenville, while Valdosta State heads to West Alabama and West Florida travels to Mississippi College for the early afternoon games.  In the GSC Game of the Week, No. 14 Delta State visits West Georgia in a key matchup with playoff and potential conference title implications.  DSU, VSU and UWG all are tied atop the GSC standings at 5-1 in league play.  Delta State finishes the season with Mississippi College (Nov. 11), while VSU entertains UWG for the Peach Basket a week from Saturday.
 
IN THE POLLS
Valdosta State moved up to 20th in the latest AFCA Top 25, while the Blazers are 19th in the latest D2Football.com Top 25.  Colorado School of Mines leads the poll with 720 points and 26 of 29 first place votes, while Pittsburg State (Kan.) is second, followed by Grand Valley State, Harding and Slippery Rock moves this week from sixth to fifth.  Benedict (S.C), the highest ranked team in Super Region Two, moves from fifth to sixth this week.  Delta State, who was idle last week, moved to 14th, while Lenoir-Rhyne, who had been seventh, fell to 16th after a 34-30 loss to Wingate.  Virginia Union is 19th this week from 23rd, one spot in front of the Blazers, while Virginia State moved into the poll at 22nd and Mars Hill made its first appearance in the poll since Dec. 19, 2011, for teams from Super Region Two.  West Florida fell out of the poll to the first team among others receiving votes. In the D2Football.com Top 25, VSU moved to 19th from 24th following the win at West Florida.  Colorado School of Mines leads the poll, followed by Grand Valley State, Pittsburg State, Ferris State and Harding round out the top five. Delta State is 12th in the poll, while Lenoir-Rhyne is 15th, VSU 19th, Virginia Union is 20th, while West Florida is 21stand Mars Hill is 25th among teams in the GSC and the Super Region Two schools.
 
HARRIS AND BOTSFORD NAMED GSC WEEKLY BEST
VSU duo of sophomore Noah Botsford and graduate student Jacob Harris were named Gulf South Conference Special Teams and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Monday.  This is the first weekly honor for both Botsford and Harris this season.  Botsford, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a Temple University transfer, had a season-high seven punts for 324 yards in the No. 24 Blazers' thrilling, 31-28, come-from-behind victory at No. 8/18 West Florida on Saturday evening.  He averaged 46.3 yards per punt and registered a season-high long of 52 yards. He also finished with one punt inside 20, which occurred in the second quarter as a 46-yarder was spotted at the West Florida eight-yard line, which resulted in a Blazer defensive touchdown in the next play.  For the season, he has 30 punts for 1,234 yards and a 41.3 average with a long of 52 yards.  He has nine punts inside the 20, two over 50 yards, nine fair catches and one touchback.  Harris registered a career-high 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops on Saturday, while he was all over the field for the Blazers and tallied one pass breakup and recovered a fumble for a touchdown to get VSU on the board in the second quarter.  It was the first defensive touchdown of the season for VSU.  Both Botsford and Harris join junior quarterback Sammy Edwards (2), junior running back G'Mone Wilson and graduate defensive back Nick Jackson to earn GSC Player of the Week honors this season. 
 
BOTSFORD NAMED STEEL'S JEWELRY BLAZER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Botsford also was named Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athlete of the Week, joining the honor with women's soccer junior Jocelyn Oballe.  This is Botsford's first time earning Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athlete of the Week as he became the ninth different Blazer to earn the honor.  He joins Edwards (2), Harris, G'Mone Wilson, Kennedy Parker, Nick Jackson, B.K. Smith and Eric Watts as Steel's Jewelry honorees.
 
ABOUT WEST ALABAMA
The Tigers enter Senior Day winners of their last two games, including a 10-6 victory over West Florida two weeks ago.  UWA followed that with a road win at Chowan, 14-6, last week.  The UWA "D" held UWF and Chowan to a combined 56 yards rushing, while the team is allowing just 89.1 yards on the ground per game for 19th nationally and second in the GSC.  The opposition has scored just 15 offensive touchdowns this season against UWA.  VSU enters averaging 134.0 yards on the ground and has scored 45 total offensive touchdowns this season.  UWA leads the GSC with ten interceptions this season for 42nd nationally, while the team is 19th nationally and second in the league in third down conversion defense (.296) and is 20th nationally and tops in the league in fourth down conversion defense at a .286 clip.  The Tigers are holding teams to just 125 first downs this season for tops in the GSC and 16th nationally.  UWA doesn't make penalties either as it is 13th nationally in fewest penalties (43) for second in the GSC and is 16th in penalty yards per game at a 48.0 clip.  UWA is allowing just 20.3 points per game for third in the GSC and 45th nationally.  The Tigers offensively, however, are averaging just 14.25 points per game, 117.9 yards on the ground for eighth in the GSC and 143.2 yards through the air for eighth in the league.  UWA is averaging 261.1 yards per game offensively.  UWA has used two quarterbacks this season with both Tucker Melton (567-133-6, 615 yards, three touchdowns) and Spencer Arceneaux (37-75-3, 464, three touchdowns) have split time.  Bry Webb leads the team with 118 carries for 582 yards and three rushing scores, while Darius Nalls has 26 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns.  Defensively, the team has 63 tackles for loss for 233 yards and a 7.9 average per game for second in the GSC and 22nd nationally.  UWA has sacked the opposition 19 times for 139 yards and a 2.38 clip per game for second in the league and 50th nationally.  Head coach Brett Gilliland is in his tenth season at UWA and is 60-40 overall, while he is 2-6 against VSU.
 
ON THIS DATE
The Blazers are 3-2 all-time on this date and 0-1 against West Alabama as the teams last met on this date in 2017 in Valdosta, with UWA winning 38-14.  This marks the first road game for the Blazers on this date in program history.
 
NO SHUTOUTS
The Blazers lead the nation in the longest streak of not being shutout with 372 games without a shutout dating back to a 12-0 loss at Central Florida to open the 1991 season on Sept. 14.  VSU's last shutout of the opposition came on Oct. 9, 2021, in Valdosta with a 55-0 victory over Delta State for the 26th shutout in program history.
 
WHAT THE NATIONAL PUNDITS SAY
This week Cory Guinn, who is the columnist for the Gulf South Conference for D2Football.com, picks the Blazers versus West Alabama.  Guinn has picked VSU six times this season and picked against VSU three times when the Blazers won (North Greenville, Mississippi College and West Florida) and once when the Blazers lost (Delta State).  
 
IN DAY GAMES
The Blazers began a stretch of six-straight games at Chowan (9/30) of games beginning before 6 p.m. local time.  VSU is 5-1 this season in day games (63-10 vs. Point, 51-36 win at Chowan), lost 49-25 at home to Delta State on Oct. 7, won at Mississippi College (21-10) on Oct. 14, won last week 42-14 over Shorter and won 31-28 at No. 8 West Florida last week.  The Blazers play at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday at West Alabama.  Since 2018, VSU is 22-5 in day games.  
 
GOOD ON THIRD
The Blazers are 19th nationally and second in the GSC in third down conversions at a .462 clip on 43 of 93, but were 0 of 10 on third down last week in the win at No. 8 West Florida.  VSU is 5 of 10 on fourth down and went 2 of 2 last week on the pivotal down at UWF.
 
MAKING THE COMPLETION
The Blazers are third nationally in completion percentage at a .694 clip, while quarterback Sammy Edwards is third nationally at a .693 clip, on 196 of 283 passing with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions for 2,615 yards.  Edwards and the Blazers are sixth nationally in passing offense at 303.0 yards per game, while he is eighth nationally in completions per game (21.78) to lead the GSC.  Edwards is 11th nationally in passing efficiency (164.1) for second in the league, while leading the GSC in passing yards (2,615) for sixth nationally and passing yards per game at a 290.6 clip also good for sixth nationally.  Edwards is tops in the GSC in total offense at 315.2 yards per game for sixth nationally.
 
GETTING THE BOOT 
VSU is sixth nationally in net punting at a 38.27 clip, while sophomore punter Noah Botsford has punted 30 times for a 41.3 average and a long of 52 with nine inside the 20, nine fair catches and one touchback.  He had a monstrous game on Saturday with seven punts for a dominating 46.3 average and a career-long 52-yarder as he earned GSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
 
BK HAVE IT YOUR WAY
VSU graduate student B.K. Smith is second in the GSC in receiving yards (659), for 32nd nationally, while he is 38th nationally and third in the league in receiving yards per game at a 73.3 clip for third in the league.  Smith had eight catches for 151 yards at West Florida on Saturday. 
 
WILLIAMS WITH THE RETURN
Junior Xavier Williams is third in the GSC in kick returns at a 25.3 clip for 23rd nationally, while Williams is second in the GSC in yards per reception at 19.58 for 23rd nationally.  He has 13 kick returns for 329 yards this season, while he has 19 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns.   
 
WITH THE BLOCK
The Blazers have blocked two kicks this season for 68th nationally and tied for first in the GSC.  Redshirt freshman defensive back Theron Stroops had a blocked kick against Keiser, while junior defensive lineman J'Quan Hicks had a blocked kick against Chowan on Sept. 30.
 
HARRIS WITH THE DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN
VSU graduate student Jacob Harris had a fumble return for a touchdown on Saturday at West Florida.  It was the first defensive touchdown of the season and the first defensive score under head coach Tremaine Jackson.  VSU's last defensive touchdown came on Oct. 16, 2021, when former Blazer Taurus Dotson returned an interception for a score (47 yards) at West Alabama.  The last fumble return for a touchdown came earlier that season as former Blazer Mondrell Jefferson had a scoop-and-score from 21 yards out on Sept. 4, 2021, versus Savannah State.  
 
A VICTORY OVER WEST ALABAMA WOULD . . .

• Give VSU a 9-1 record this season overall and a 36-6 all-time record against West Alabama
• Be the 17th victory for VSU in Livingston (16-3) and sixth-straight
• Give VSU a 4-2 record on this date and the first against UWA (0-1)
• Be the 330th victory in program history (329-136-4)
• Give Blazer head coach Tremaine Jackson his 24th career coaching victory (23-10) and his 14th at VSU (13-7)
• Be the 214th GSC victory (213-94-3)
• Give VSU its 69th victory in November (68-43-3)
• Give VSU its sixth win (5-1) of the season during the day and 23rd (22-5) since 2018
• Hand UWA its fifth loss of the season and third loss at home
• Spoil the Tigers' Senior Day festivities
• Ensure VSU would be playing for at least a share of the GSC title on November 11