WACO, Texas – Coming off a national championship game appearance in 2024, the Valdosta State football team was selected 12th in the preseason American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Top 25 announced Monday.
The Blazers, who went 13-1 last season and played in their seventh national title game and won a Gulf South Conference-best 11th league title garnered 402 points in the preseason poll. The Blazers have been either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason top 25 six times dating back to 2018 and there was no preseason poll in 2020 due to COVID.
Headlining the 2025 poll is defending national champion Ferris State with 30 of 31 first place votes, followed by Harding and Grand Valley State was picked third. Slippery Rock was fourth and garnered the final first place nod and Central Oklahoma rounded out the top five.
Click here for the complete AFCA Top 25.
Colorado State-Pueblo was picked sixth, followed by Kutztown and GSC member West Florida is eighth, while Pittsburg State is ninth and Western Colorado rounded out the top ten. Minnesota State is 11th, followed by VSU, Angelo State, Charleston and California (Pa.) is 15th. Lenoir-Rhyne, who VSU hosts on Oct. 4, is 17th in the poll, while West Alabama, Delta State and Johnson C. Smith all are among others receiving votes and are also teams VSU faces this season.
Blazer head coach Graham Craig begins his first season at the helm of the program in 2025 after being hired as the 12th head coach in program history on Jan. 20, 2025. Craig was the offensive coordinator for the red and black in 2024.
Last season, Craig's offense finished 11th nationally and tops in the GSC at 448.6 yards per game, while it was eighth nationally in scoring offense at 40.1 points per game which was best in the league. The Blazers led the nation turnovers lost for the season with just five.
VSU opens the 2025 season on Aug. 30, at 1:15 p.m. ET in Birmingham, Ala., at historic Legion Field versus Clark Atlanta in the Week Zero Labor Day Classic.
