INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The third and final publicly released NCAA Super Region rankings were announced Monday and the No. 1-ranked Valdosta State football team moved from third to first this week following its 49-20 victory at Delta State on Saturday.    
 
The NCAA Division II Football Selection Show is scheduled for the evening of Nov. 17 and broadcast on NCAA.com.  The format is four regions of seven teams with the top-seed in each region earning a first round "bye".  The remaining six teams in each region will open the postseason on Nov. 23, while the top-seed would then open on Nov. 30.  The regional finals are scheduled for Dec. 7, while the national semifinals, which are reseeded, are set for Dec. 14.  The 2024 NCAA Division II Football National Championship game is set for McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas, on Dec. 21.
 
For this week's rankings for Super Region Two, the Blazers lead the way, followed by Wingate who was the top team in the ranking last week and West Alabama moved from second to third this week.  Carson-Newman is fourth this week, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne and Miles College sits sixth.  Johnson C. Smith moved to seventh, followed by West Florida, Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State rounds out the top ten.
 
The Blazers last played in McKinney in the championship in 2021, finishing as national runner-up, while they won the 2018 national championship in a 49-47 thriller over Ferris State, also in McKinney, for the program's fourth national title in football and eighth national title overall as an institution at that time.  VSU now has nine national titles in school history, winning the 2024 men's tennis national title this past spring. 
 
VSU's six national title appearances (4-2) are tied for third-most all-time in NCAA Division II, as are its four national titles.  Northwest Missouri State leads the way with six national titles and ten appearances, while former D2 member North Dakota State has five championships in seven appearances.  The Blazers and Grand Valley State are tied for third in both.  
 
The Blazers are 31-15 all-time in 19 appearances in the NCAA postseason and the 31 victories are fourth-most all-time in D2 and third-most among active institutions.  The 19 appearances are tied for fifth-most all-time and fourth-most among current D2 schools.  
 
VSU went 2-1 in the postseason in 2023, defeating Limestone 62-41 and winning at Delta State 38-31, before losing to Lenoir-Rhyne 35-7 in the regional final in Valdosta.  The Blazers were the No. 3-seed in the regional in 2023, while they were the top-seed in 2018, 2019 and 2021.  Since 2018, the Blazers are 9-3 in the playoffs with four appearances.  
 
The Blazers, who are 9-0 overall and 5-0 in Gulf South Conference play, host No. 16-ranked West Florida on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for Senior Night.  A win by the Blazers would give them the outright Gulf South Conference title in 2024.