SETTING THE SCENE
For the third time in five years, the Valdosta State football team will be hosting a quarterfinal round matchup as the Blazers are set to battle No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  This marks the third time the Blazers and the Bears have tangled in the playoffs with the last being in 2018 in Valdosta and the first being in Hickory, N.C., in 2014.  VSU has won both previous meetings.
 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long with Mike McDowd and Scott James having the call.  The game also will be streamed live on Hudl with Dave Garner and Taylor Biddle providing the call of the game.  Fans can access links to the radio broadcast and video broadcast at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
SPECIAL BASKETBALL/FOOTBALL PROMOTION THIS WEEKEND
The Blazers are offering a special promotion for this weekend if you buy a ticket to the football game on Saturday, your football ticket also will get you into the Blazer basketball doubleheader on Friday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. at The Complex versus Delta State AND the basketball doubleheader on Sunday, Dec. 3, beginning at 2 p.m., versus Mississippi College.  Fans can purchase advanced tickets for Saturday's football game by calling 229-333-SEAT (7328) or online on the football schedule page at vstateblazers.com.  The VSU Athletic Ticket Office is open Monday -Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
 
NEW STREAMING FOR NCAA POSTSEASON ON HUDL
Hudl has announced an exclusive partnership with the NCAA and NCAA Digital, managed by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, to stream more than 200 NCAA Division II championship contests in 2023-24. This partnership includes live and on-demand coverage of the Division II Football and Women's Volleyball Championships this fall and the Division II Men's and Women's Basketball Championships this winter.  A new NCAA Championships Pass application will be available on Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Google TV devices. Fans will have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $19.95 for all Division II football games through the quarterfinal round. The Division II football games on the Hudl platform will include all games not distributed by ESPN. The football semifinals and championship game will continue to be broadcast on ESPN platforms. 
 
RECAPPING THE SECOND ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS AT DELTA STATE

 
HOME SWEET HOME IN THE PLAYOFFS
VSU opened the playoffs with a 62-41 victory over Limestone in the first round on Nov. 18 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  The win gave VSU a 30-14 record all-time in the NCAA postseason and a 21-7 record all-time at home in the playoffs.  It also marked the ninth-straight home playoff game as VSU is 7-2 during that span.  Last week, marked the first road playoff game (11th all-time) for VSU since 2015.
 
REACHING THE QUARTERFINALS
Saturday's game will be a rematch of the 2018 quarterfinal as VSU won that game 61-21 in Valdosta over Lenoir-Rhyne.   The Blazers have qualified for the quarterfinals 11 times and the Blazers are 6-4 in the previous ten trips.  LR is making its fourth trip to the quarterfinals and is 1-2 in the previous three trips as the Bears finished as national runner-up in 2013.  LR's last trip to the quarterfinals was in 2019, losing 43-38 to eventual national champion West Florida.
 
VERSUS THE TAR HEEL STATE 
This is the second team the Blazers have faced from the State of North Carolina this season as VSU won 51-36 at Chowan (Murfreesboro, N.C.) on Sept. 30.  VSU is 14-3 all-time against teams from the Great State of North Carolina as it is 2-1 against Catawba, 1-0 versus Chowan, 2-0 against Gardner-Webb, 2-0 versus Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-0 versus Lees McRae, 1-2 against UNC Pembroke, 2-0 versus Wingate and 3-0 versus Winston-Salem State.  VSU is 5-1 in the playoffs against North Carolina teams.
 
SEEING DAYLIGHT
The Blazers began a stretch of six-straight games at Chowan (9/30) of games beginning before 6 p.m. local time and running through Nov. 4.  VSU is 8-1 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 Oct. 21 42-14, won 31-28 at West Florida (Oct. 28), 20-14 at West Alabama (Nov. 4), won 62-41 over Limestone (Nov. 18) and won last week 38-31 at Delta State (11/25).  Since 2018, VSU is 25-5 in day games.  This will be the tenth day game of the season for the Blazers Saturday.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH LENOIR-RHYNE
VSU is 2-0 all-time against Lenoir-Rhyne as the teams met in Valdosta in 2018 with VSU winning 61-21 in the regional final.  VSU then won the first meeting in the series in the second round with a 23-21 victory in Hickory, N.C.  VSU has outscored the Bears 84-42 in the two previous meetings.  VSU is 15-5 all-time against the current members of the South Atlantic Conference.  The Blazers are 2-1 versus Catawba, 5-3 against Carson-Newman, 2-0 versus Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-0 versus Limestone, 3-1 versus Newberry and 2-0 against Wingate. 
 
EDWARDS FINALIST FOR PRESTIGIOUS HARLON HILL
Blazer signal-caller Sammy Edwards is one of nine finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, the the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year.  Six of the nine finalists guided their teams to the 2023 NCAA Division II playoffs and four are playing this weekend including Edwards.  Along with Edwards, Colorado School of Mines quarterback John Matocha, Slippery Rock quarterback Brayden Long and safety Tanner Volk of Central Washington comprise the finalists who are still playing in the postseason. Edwards, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., has had an outstanding season for the red and black in his first season as a starter.  He is 12-1 leading the Blazers to the NCAA quarterfinal round for the third time in five years and helped the Blazers win a share of their tenth Gulf South Conference title in program history this season. Edwards threw for 347 yards on 35 of 49 passing and two touchdowns, while he had 13 carries for 50 yards and a score, besting Shegog in the thrilling 38-31 victory at Delta State in the second round of the playoffs last Saturday.  Shegog was named GSC Offensive Player of the Year and first team all-conference.   He becomes the fifth Blazer to be named a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, joining Chris Hatcher who won the award in 1994, while Funderburk was a runner-up in 1996 and Rogan Wells was the runner-up in 2019 and a finalist in 2019.   Dusty Bonner won the award twice in 2000 and 2001. The winner of the 2023 award will be announced on Friday, December 15, and the winner will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on Friday, January 12, 2024.
 
MORE HARDWARE FOR EDWARDS
Junior quarterback Sammy Edwards added more hardware this week as he was named D2CCA Super Region Two Offensive Player of the Year and D2CCA First Team All-Region.  Edwards highlights seven Blazers who earned all-region honors as graduate student kicker Estin Thiele, graduate student safety Jacob Harris and sophomore punter Noah Botsford earned first team honors, while graduate student wide receiver B.K. Smith, graduate student offensive lineman Devin Hannan and graduate student cornerback Kyle Cass were second team selections.  Edwards is the first D2CCA Offensive Player of the Year for the Blazers since former Blazer Rogan Wells earned the honor in both 2018 and 2019.
 
B.K. HAVE IT YOUR WAY
Graduate student wide receiver B.K. Smith made the grab of his career on Saturday as he caught a 24-yard catch and run, scoring with nine seconds remaining giving VSU a 38-31 lead at No. 8 Delta State in the second round of the playoffs.  It was Smith's third catch of the game for 52 yards, while he also threw one pass for 28 yards in the game on a receiver pass.  This season, Smith leads the team with 66 receptions for 973 yards and six touchdowns.  He is 13th nationally in receiving yards (973) for second in the GSC, while he is third in the GSC and 35th nationally in receiving yards per game.  Smith has gone over 100 yards receiving three times this season with a season-high 151 yards at West Florida (10/30).  He has a season-high eight receptions at West Alabama (11/4) and caught two touchdowns twice, once against Point (9/2) and then again against Shorter (10/21).  For his career, Smith has 108 receptions for 1,699 yards and 12 touchdowns. 
 
BULLET BULLARD
Redshirt freshman Rodney Bullard had a career-high 11 receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown at Delta State in the second round of the playoffs last weekend.  Bullard is third on the team this season with 43 receptions for 566 yards and tied for the team-high in receiving touchdowns with seven.  In the last four games, Bullard has 29 catches for 339 yards and five touchdowns.  For the season, Bullard also has 12 kick returns for 305 yards and one touchdown on a 99-yard return against West Georgia (11/11).  
 
A FOR ALLEN
Junior wide receiver Council Allen has 61 catches for second on the team, 782 yards receiving and tied for the the team-high seven touchdowns this season.  Allen surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards against Limestone as he now has 1,023 yards on 88 receptions with nine touchdowns.  
 
GSC TITLES
VSU won a share of its tenth GSC Title this season for the second-most conference titles all-time in GSC history and the most league-crowns among active GSC members.  North Alabama leads the league record book with 13 titles, while VSU has ten and Delta State (who VSU shared the title) has nine for third.
 
TURNAROUND
The Blazers have won five more games this season thus far than a year ago in Jackson's first year as head coach VSU went 5-6 last season and is 12-1 this year, while the team was 2-5 in league play and 7-1 this season.  The six-game turnaround marks the biggest turnaround since the 2017-18 season when the team went 5-4 in 2017 to 14-0 in 2018 for a 6.5 increase.  VSU was picked fifth in the GSC preseason coaches poll for 2023.
 
SEVEN BLAZERS EARN ALL-GSC HONORS
A total of seven Valdosta State football players were named to the All-Gulf South Conference football teams, announced in November.  Graduate student wide receiver B.K. Smith and graduate student defensive back Jacob Harris were first team selections.  VSU had five selections to the second team including; junior quarterback Sammy Edwards, along with junior wide receiver Council Allen, junior tight end Noah Gillan, graduate student offensive tackle Devin Hannan and graduate student defensive back Kyle Cass. 
 
THIELE FIFTH IN CAREER SCORING
Graduate student kicker Estin Thiele, a native of Saint Augustine, Fla., had another outstanding year in 2023 as he is third in the GSC in field goal percentage at a .692 clip on 9 of 13, while he is 65 of 66 in extra-points this season and has a long field goal of 48 yards.  Thiele earned second team all-conference honors this season and was a 2022 Fred Mitchell Award Finalist in 2022.  This season, Thiele has a team-high 42 kickoffs for 2,588 yards and a 61.6 average per kick with 19 touchbacks and three kicks out of play.  Thiele earned GSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors once this season. For his career, Thiele has made 40 of 53 field goals (.755), while going 182 of 185 in extra-points.  His 302 career points is good for fifth all-time in school history and eighth all-time in GSC history.  He needs just four points to tie former Blazer great Cedric O'Neal (2012-15) for fourth all-time in program history and seventh in GSC history.  Thiele made a school-record five field goals last season against Keiser earning National Player of the Week honors that week for his efforts.  He has 38 career punts for 1,529 yards and a 40.2 average, while he has 172 kickoffs for a 62.1 average and 90 touchbacks with three kicks out of play.  
 
EXCELLENT EDWARDS
Blazer junior quarterback Sammy Edwards has thrown for 4,080 yards this season for second nationally and tops in the GSC.  The 4,080 yards are second-most in a season in school history and just 233 yards from the GSC-record of 4,313 set by Nick Graziano of Arkansas Tech in 2009.  The Blazer school-record is 4,226 set by Lance Funberburk in 1996, which is just 146 yards ahead of Edwards.  Edwards' 4,080 yards is third-most in school history in a season so far as former Blazer great Dusty Bonner is second at 4,126 in 2000.  This season, Edwards earned All-Gulf South Conference Second Team honors as he is 313 of 459 passing for a 68.2 clip, while he has 33 touchdown passes and nine interceptions for a 313.8 average per game and a 162.66 passing efficiency. Edwards' 313 completions are good for seventh in school history currently, while his 33 passing touchdowns are good for eighth in program history so far, while he is second in school history behind former Blazer Ivory Durham (2021) in total offense with 4,379 yards through 13 games this season and his 551 total offensive plays are good for fifth in program history.  Edwards set the school-record for touchdown passes in a game with six twice this season with the first coming on Sept. 30 at Chowan and then a half dozen again in the first round of the playoffs versus Limestone on Nov. 18. Edwards threw for a career-high 479 yards against Keiser University on Sept. 16 for the third-most passing yards in a game in school history, while he threw for over 400 yards twice this season and over 300 yards seven times.  He also has 92 rushes for 299 yards and six rushing scores this season.  Prior to this 2023, Edwards had played in 24 games, going 7 of 11 passing for 121 yards and a long pass of 64 yards.
 
EDWARDS AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
Not only has Edwards excelled with school records, but he also is among the national leaders as he currently is seventh in completion percentage at a 68.4 clip, while he is fifth in completions per game (24.0), seventh in passing touchdowns (33), fifth in passing yards per game (313.8) and fifth in total offense at a 336.8 clip as all lead the GSC.  He is second in the league in passing efficiency (162.66) for 11th nationally and sixth nationally in points responsible for with 236 for second in the league.  
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Junior Sammy Edwards has had an outstanding season as his 4,080 passing yards this season are second-most in a season in school history and just 233 yards from the GSC-record of 4,313 set by Nick Graziano of Arkansas Tech in 2009.  The Blazer school record is 4,226 set by Lance Funberburk in 1996, which is just 146 yards ahead of Edwards.  Edwards' 4,080 yards is third-most in school history in a season so far as former Blazer great Dusty Bonner is second at 4,126 in 2000.   His 313 completions are seventh-most in program history, while is 33 touchdown passes are eighth-most in program history for a season.  Edwards' 4,379 yards of total offense are good for second-most in a season in program history behind former Blazer Ivory Durham who had 4,437 in 2021.
 
THIS BUD'S FOR YOU
Sophomore running back Bud Chaney has 12 rushing touchdowns this season which are tied for ninth-most all-time in school history.  Chaney has 66 carries for 284 yards this season.  Prior to this year, Chaney had just 45 carries for 239 yards and one touchdown.  
 
FIVE BY FIVE
VSU is fifth nationally in completion percentage at a 68.5 clip for tops in the GSC, while the team is fifth nationally in first down offense (295) and fifth in net punting 40.02. VSU also is fifth nationally in passing offense at a 325.2 clip, while the team is fifth nationally in passing efficiency at a 166.09 clip.  In addition, the Blazers are 11th nationally in total offense at a 455.2 average per game.
 
GOOD ON THIRD
The Blazers are 17th nationally and second in the GSC in third down conversions at a 47.3 clip.  VSU, in the playoffs have gone 20 of 31 on third down so far for a 64.5 average in the wins over Limestone and Delta State.  
 
RECAPPING LENOIR-RHYNE'S WIN ON SATURDAY
The Bears shook off a slow start for a 35-25 win at No. 4-ranked and top-seed Benedict last Saturday handing Benedict its only loss of the season.  LR quarterback Sean White threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, while Dwayne McGee ran for a LR NCAA playoff record 216 yards on 21 carries.  LR finished the game with 560 yards of offense in the game as it was LR's first road win in playoff history on the road.  
 
ABOUT LENOIR-RHYNE
The Bears (12-1, 8-1 SAC) won both the Piedmont Division of the South Atlantic Conference and then defeated Tusculum in the SAC Title Game this season.  The Bears are 10-6 all-time in the NCAA postseason and are making their seventh trip to the postseason in program history.  Head coach Mike Jacobs is 31-8 at Lenoir-Rhyne and was the head coach at Notre Dame College when NDC played VSU in the national semifinals in Valdosta in 2018.  Jacobs is 73-16 all-time as a head coach.  The Bears won the South Atlantic Conference Piedmont Division and the SAC Championship game this season.  LR has been strong all season on both sides of the ball as it is 14th nationally and total offense at 452.3 yards per game, while the team averages 241.5 passing yards per game and is 18th nationally in rushing offense at 218.8. Defensively, the team is second nationally in 3rd Down Conversion Defense holding teams to a .249 success rate, while the team is allowing just 248.6 yards per game for sixth nationally.  LR is 23rd nationally in passing defense at 170.1 yards allowed per game, while it is seventh nationally in rush defense allowing just 78.5 yards per game.  The Bears are averaging 39.8 points per game for 14th nationally and allowing just 12.2 per contest for fourth nationally. Individually, quarterback Sean White is eighth nationally in passing efficiency at 165.8, while he is ninth nationally in completion percentage at a .670 clip.  DeAree Rogers is 24th nationally in combined kick returns with 565 yards, while he has three punt returns for touchdowns to lead the nation.  In the backfield, the Bears have Dwayne McGee who is sixth nationally in rushing yards with 1,429 for the season in 13 games and a 119.1 average per game which is good for tenth nationally.  McGee has ten rushing scores for the season and is fourth nationally in rush yards per carry at a 7.14 clip.  Both Rogers and Songa Yates are favorite targets of White to pass, while on defense, the Bears are led by Jon Ross May who averages 7.5 tackles per game overall and 4.2 solo tackles.  Andre Jefferson leads the team averaging 1.5 tackles for loss and he leads the team in sacks at a 0.92 clip for ninth nationally.  
 
NO SHUTOUTS
The Blazers lead the nation in the longest streak of not being shutout with 377 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 27th shutout in program history.
 
ON THIS DATE
This marks the first game in program history on December 2.  In December, the Blazers are 14-3 all-time and have won five of the last six in December.  
 
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
VSU is 71-65-2 all-time against ranked teams and is 39-28-1 all-time at home against ranked teams.  The Blazers are facing their fourth ranked team of the season as the Blazers are 2-1 against ranked teams this season.  VSU lost 49-25 to No. 8 Delta State on Oct. 7, in Valdosta, then won at No. 8 West Florida on Oct. 28, 31-28 and then defeated No. 8 Delta State on Nov. 25, 38-31, in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.
 
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
The winner of this game will advance to the NCAA Semifinals next Saturday at a time and place to be determined.  If the Blazers win on Saturday, check back with vstateblazers.com on Sunday to see where the semifinal round will be when it is announced.  
 
A VICTORY OVER LENOIR-RHYNE WOULD . . .