SETTING THE SCENE
The Valdosta State football team (4-4, 1-0 GSC) closes out the 2025 regular season home slate with No. 21 Delta State (7-2, 1-1 GSC) Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for Senior Day.
 
THE 2025 SENIOR BLAZER SENIOR CLASS
Saturday marks Senior Day for the Blazers as they will honor 28 seniors playing in their final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform along with two outstanding equipment managers.  The 2025 Senior Class has helped lead VSU to two national title game appearances in 2021 and 2024, along with three NCAA postseason berths and three Gulf South Conference titles.  The Blazers have gone 46-15 and 22-7 in Gulf South Conference play for the history of this senior class.  The 2025 Senior Class includes in numerical order; Council Allen, Zak Sedaros, Dallas Robinson, Josh Brown, Jaden Dawkins, Greg Hudgins, Rance Conner, McCall Bennett, Abe Nyang, Pate Hogan, Seth Smith, Theron Stroops, Ashaud Roberson, Andrew Douglas, Eric Watts, Caleb Dawson, Aaron Willis, Jemarrlowe Sykes, Kenley-Mary Asse, Wyatt Anderson, Victor Cameron, Steve Mauro, Xyre Wilson, Ma'jon Wright, Kevin Robertson, Mark Robinson, JC Martin and Lonnie Leverette, along with student equipment mangers Chase Kerlin and Keontrae Williams.  VSU Athletics would like to wish each of these seniors best of luck in their future endeavors!
 
POSTSEASON RACE ALREADY HAS BEGUN
Saturday's game against Delta State is definitely a postseason elimination game for VSU and could be considered a "must win" for Delta State for the NCAA playoffs.  VSU needs to win Saturday and then at No. 3 West Florida next week to win its GSC-best 12th Gulf South Conference title and automatically qualify for its 21st appearance in the NCAA postseason.  
 
THE NCAA SUPER REGION TWO RANKINGS
The Blazers are outside the region top ten this week, while Delta State is seventh in the rankings.  West Florida leads the rankings, followed by Albany State, Benedict, Newberry and Wingate rounds out the top five.  Kentucky State is sixth, followed by Delta State at seventh and Carson-Newman at eighth.  UNC Pembroke sits ninth and Emory & Henry is tenth.  The top eight teams will qualify for the NCAA postseason as the field of 32 will be announced on Nov. 16.  This year, eight teams in each of the four super regions qualify and there are no "byes" for the top-seed anymore. 
 
WIN NUMBER 350
With the win last Saturday, the Blazers won their 350th game in program history dating back to 1982.  VSU is 350-142-4 all-time in its 43rd season of football.  VSU won its first game against Troy State on Sept. 18, 1982, 24-21, while it won its 325th on Sept. 23, 2023, in a 28-3 win over North Greenville and its 300th in a 34-13 win at Delta State on Oct. 12, 2019. 
 
CALLING THE GAME
TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast the Blazer games all season long, both home and away, with Wade Beale and Scott James having the call on the radio. Home games will be broadcast on FloCollege with Dave Garner and Taylor Biddle having the call.  Fans can access links to the radio broadcast and video broadcast at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.
 
COMING UP 21
This marks the second-straight week the Blazers have taken on the No. 21 team in the AFCA Coaches Poll.  Last week VSU defeated then-No. 21 West Alabama 45-35.  The Blazers are 4-1 when playing the No. 21 team in the country and are 4-0 in Valdosta against No. 21.  VSU's last three games against the No. 21 team have been when the Blazers have not been ranked and VSU has gone 2-1 in those three games.  The lone loss being at Delta State on Oct. 11, 2022, during that span.
 
RECAPPING WEST ALABAMA
The Blazers turned an early turnover into a touchdown and broke a 7-7 score with a 17-0 second quarter for a 24-7 lead at halftime, before UWA rallied in the second half.  The Blazers never trailed and used a 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown from Dallas Robinson with 1:59 to play pushing the lead back to ten after UWA had trimmed the deficit to three on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter.  Quarterback Jameson Holcomb had his best game to date, going 18 of 25 passing for 225 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, while senior wide receiver Council Allen threw a touchdown pass on a lateral from Holcomb for an electrifying play giving VSU a 38-28 lead with six minutes to play.  Allen finished with a season-high seven catches for 110 yards and one touchdown reception.  Defensively the Blazers had three players in double figure tackles with graduate student Jaden Dawkins having a career-high 16 tackles, while senior Mark Robinson and sophomore LaBarryon Moore each had ten stops.  VSU forced UWA quarterback Spencer Arceneaux into two turnovers himself with one INT and a fumble, while senior Josh Brown and D. Robinson made the fumble happen late in the game to seal the victory.  
 
NEW BLAZER MOBILE APP
Valdosta State Athletics in partnership with Renasant Bank is thrilled to announce the official launch of the Blazer Athletics Mobile App, available for free on iOS and Android devices via the App Store and Google Play Store.  The new Valdosta State Blazers Athletic App integrates news, team information, gameday notifications gameday notifications for all Blazer athletic events both home and away and schedules, as well as ways to purchase VSU tickets and apparel.  The Valdosta State App offers a user-friendly interface with easy access to many services and features.  Check vstateblazers.com for more information on the new Mobile App.

OUT IN THE SUN
This season, the Blazers play all day games through the regular season with no game starting later than 4 p.m. local time.  Traditionally, the Blazers have had a mix of day and evening/night games, but this is the first season in program history with no night games planned for the regular season.  
 
COACH GRAHAM CRAIG SHOW
Following each game this season, The Coach Graham Craig Show will feature the head coach along with select players as they dissect the game both home and away.  Check back with vstateblazers.com and on the Blazer social media channels each Sunday evening for the newest edition of The Coach Graham Craig Show.  
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH DELTA STATE
The Blazers are 21-22-1 all-time against Delta State, but have won the last two in the series and eight of ten.  VSU won the last two meetings in Cleveland, Miss., with a 49-20 win last season and a 38-31 win in the second round of the NCAA Division II football playoffs in 2023.  The Statesmen lead the all-time series 11-9 in Valdosta and won in Titletown 49-25 on Oct. 7, 2023, in the last meeting at VSU.  Prior to that, VSU had won three-straight at home in the series.  VSU is 12-11-1 all-time in Cleveland against Delta State.
 
AGAINST RANKED TEAMS
Saturday marks the second-straight week the Blazers have faced a ranked team this season.  VSU is 75-67-2 all-time against ranked teams and 43-29-1 at home against ranked foes.  VSU is 12-31-1 all-time against ranked teams when it has not been ranked, VSU is 4-10 when facing Delta State when the Statemen have been ranked.  The Blazers are 0-3 when not ranked against a ranked Delta State team.  VSU snapped a three-game skid against ranked teams with the win last week against West Alabama when the Blazers have been unranked.
 
ROLADER NAMED GSC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK FOR SECOND TIME
Blazer freshman kicker Matt Rolader was named Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time following his efforts against West Alabama.  scored nine points in the Blazers' 45-35 upset win over No. 21 West Alabama on Saturday.  Rolader went 6 of 6 in extra-points and kicked a career-long 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter breaking a 7-7 tie as VSU would never tie or trail the rest of the game.  Rolader's previous best field goal was 41-yards against Lenoir-Rhyne.  For the season, Rolader is 5 of 7 in field goals and 27 of 28 in extra-points as is tied for the team-lead in scoring with 42 points with senior running back Eric Watts.  Rolader is the only Blazer to earn GSC weekly honors three times this season as he also earned GSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors once this season.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Blazers are fifth nationally in fewest penalties with just 37 infractions this season to lead the league.  VSU is fifth nationally in fewest penalties per game (4.63), 11th in fewest penalty yards (369) and 22nd in fewest penalty yards per game (46.13).  The Blazers are 24th nationally in first down defense holding teams to 144 total first downs allowed this season for second in the GSC.  The Blazers are ninth nationally in punting at a 39.3 net clip for second in the league.  Individually, Holcomb is 28th nationally and tops in the league in completion percentage at a 0.637 clip on 79 of 124 passing with two interceptions on the year, along with 876 yards and five touchdown passes.  Junior punter Devin Walter is seventh nationally in punting average at a 43.8 clip for second in the GSC.  He has 32 punts for 1,402 yards and a long of 67.  He has three touchbacks and 17 punts inside the 20 with eight over 50 yards.
 
ABOUT DELTA STATE
The Statesmen enter with a 7-2 record overall and a 1-1 mark in GSC play following a 51-38 loss at home to No. 3 West Florida last weekend.  DSU tied the game at 31 with a fumble recovery for a touchdown with 7:23 left in the third, but UWF scored two more touchdown for a 45-31 lead.  DSU would cut it to 45-38, but the Argos used a 61-yard run from Marcus Stokes sealing the victory with 1:43 to play and a 51-38 margin.  Statesmen quarterback Garrett Ames had a staggering 38.7 yards per pass completion average as they were just 6 of 25 passing for 232 yards, three touchdown passes and two interceptions.  Curtis Rearden had four of the six receptions for 207 yards and all three touchdowns.  This season, the Statesmen have used two quarterbacks with Ames playing in eight games, going 66 of 134 passing for 979 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions, while Cole Kirk has played in six games going 74 of 129 passing for 1,207 yards, seven interceptions and ten touchdowns.  Nick Clark leads the ground attack with 107 carries for 488 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Rearden has 19 receptions for 542 yards and seven touchdowns.  Neno Lemay has 29 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown, while he also has been electrifying in the return game with 21 kickoff returns for 498 yards and one touchdown.  Defensively, William Carter leads the team with 51 total tackles and has four tackles for loss and one sack.  Austin Collins leads the team with eight tackles for loss on 19 total tackles, while Alex Larry has a team-high 4.5 sacks.  DSU has ten interceptions for the season.  The Statesmen are fifth nationally in sacks allowed at 0.67 with just six sacks surrendered this season.  DSU averages 246.9 yards through the air for 38th nationally and second in the league, while averaging 175.9 on the ground, also good for second in the league.  DSU is tops in the league on third down at a conversion rate of 0.467 for 22nd nationally, while the team is holding the opposition to 194.3 yards through the air per game for tops in the league.  The team is second in the GSC in rushing defense, holding teams to 118 yards per game and holding teams to 18.4 points per game for second in the league and 26th nationally.  Rearden leads the nation in yards per reception at 28.53, while he leads the league in touchdown receptions (7) and second in the league in receiving yards at a 67.8 clip.  Lemay is 21st nationally and second in the league in combined kick returns with 498 yards, while he has one kickoff return for a score and averages 23.7 yards per kickoff return for second in the league.  Ames is 12th nationally in passing yards per completion at a 14.83 clip.  Head coach Todd Cooley is 4-8 all-time against VSU in his time at DSU.
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Blazers conclude the 2025 regular season on Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. ET at West Florida in Pensacola, Fla.   
 
A WIN OVER DELTA STATE WOULD . . .