VALDOSTA, Ga. – Fresh of its first shutout victory since 2021, the Valdosta State football team moved to third Monday in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D2Football.com polls.  
 
The Blazers downed Fayetteville State 34-0 on Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium to improve to 3-0 on the year.  There was some shakeup towards the top of both polls this week as former top five teams Pittsburg State and Central Missouri both lost Saturday.  VSU moved from sixth to third in the AFCA poll, while it moved from fifth to third in the D2Football poll.  
 
Headlining both polls is defending national champion Harding, while Grand Valley moved to second this week, followed by VSU for a consistent top three in both polls.  Colorado School of Mines sits fourth in the AFCA poll, while it is fifth in D2Football.  Ferris State sits fifth in AFCA.  
 
Lenior-Rhyne moves to sixth in the AFCA poll following a 38-17 victory over Tiffin and the Bears are 12^th in D2Football. West Florida is 12^th in AFCA and 13^th in D2Football, while Virginia Union is 21^st in AFCA and 20^th in D2Football.  West Alabama breaks into the AFCA Top 25 at 23^rd, while Delta State fell to T-24^th with its loss at Wingate.  With Wingate's victory, it moves into the poll at T-24.  According to D2Football, Wingate is 23^rd and Delta State is 24^th among teams from NCAA Super Region Two.  
 
The Blazers open Gulf South Conference play Saturday at 4 p.m. at league-newcomer Erskine College in Greenwood, S.C.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more.