SETTING THE SCENE
The Blazers (1-0) begin a stretch of four-straight games against teams from The Tar Heel State in the first matchup in history against Johnson C. Smith (1-0) at Irwin Belk Complex (4,500) in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 12 p.m.  VSU is coming off a 31-28 win over Clark Atlanta in the Week Zero Labor Day Classic in Birmingham, Ala., while JCS won 45-9 over Morehouse at The Essence HBCU Classic on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass., played at Harvard University.
 
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. 
 
HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Visit vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page for a link to purchase tickets for the game.
 
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.
 
SEEING CAROLINA
Saturday marks the first of four-straight games against teams from North Carolina as the Blazers are scheduled to play at Chowan (Sept. 13), then host UNC Pembroke (Sept. 27) in the 2025 home-opener and continue the North Carolina trend with Lenoir-Rhyne at home on Oct. 4.  The Blazers then play their first game against a Division I opponent since 2003 on Oct. 11 at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.  In all, the next five games are all against teams from the Carolinas.  VSU is 16-2 all-time against teams from the State of North Carolina and are 5-0 in games played in North Carolina.  Johnson C. Smith is the tenth different school VSU will have faced against teams from The Tar Heel State.  Blazer junior punter Devin Walter is the only player on the team from North Carolina as he is from Concord, N.C.  VSU does have a number of players from South Carolina and a number of players went to both North Carolina and South Carolina colleges before coming to Valdosta State.
 
AGAINST THE CENTRAL INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (CIAA)
The Blazers have fared well against teams from the CIAA over the years as they are 8-1 all-time against the CIAA and 4-1 in regular season games.  VSU is 3-0 all-time against Winston-Salem State (2-0 regular season), while it is 2-0 all-time against Bowie State (playoffs).  VSU is 2-1 against Virginia Union and 1-1 in regular season games and are 1-0 against Fayetteville State coming in Valdosta in 2024 during the regular season.
 
NETRUAL SITE GAMES
The win over Clark Atlanta was the first neutral site regular season game for the Blazers since VSU won 55-6 versus Fort Valley State on Sept. 8, 2018, in Waycross, Ga.  Overall, the Blazers are 16-4 all-time in neutral site games the Blazers are 12-1 in neutral site games during the regular season with the only regular season loss at a neutral site being against Troy on Oct. 6, 1984, in a 27-12 loss in Dothan, Ala.
 
ROLADER AND WALTER EARN GSC WEEKLY HONORS
Valdosta State freshman kicker Matt Rolader was named Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Week, while junior punter Devin Walter was named GSC Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday. Rolader, a native of Auburn, Ala., was 1 for 2 in field goals and hit the eventual game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter, breaking a 28-28 tie.  He also went 4 for 4 in extra-points and had one kickoff for 64 yards.  Walter, a junior transfer from Rhode Island and native of Concord, N.C., had two huge punts in his Blazer debut pinning Clark Atlanta inside the five on both punts to flip field position.  The second punt pinned CAU at its own two and the Blazer "D" forced a three-and-out early in the fourth as VSU took over and eventually kicked the go-ahead field goal.  The first punt went 47 yards and was downed at CAU's four in the second quarter.
 
FAKE PUNT PERFECTION
On the first series of the season and the opening drive of the game, VSU had a fourth and three from the VSU 44 as head coach Graham Craig called the fake punt with junior Bo Tallevast running for 23 yards to the CAU 33.  VSU would eventually score on the drive marking the second-straight year of scoring on the opening possession of the season and the sixth of the last seven playing seasons of an opening score on the opening drive.  Only 2022 versus Keiser was a field goal, while the rest during that span were touchdowns.  Against Clark Atlanta, VSU went 2 of 3 on fourth down, but struggled on third down, going just 3 of 11.
 
FIRST WIN FOR COACH
Blazer head coach Graham Craig became the seventh Blazer head coach to win his coaching debut with the program.  Craig joins former head coaches Tremaine Jackson, Gary Goff, Kerwin Bell, David Dean, Chris Hatcher and Mike Cavan were the others taste victory in their first game as a Blazer head coach.
 
TWO BIG PUNTS
Continuing the theme of special teams, Walter had two punts for 81 yards and both punts were downed inside the five-yard line.  Walter had boots of 34 yards and 47 yards to flip field position.  His first punt came in the second quarter and was the 47-yarder as the Blazers downed the ball at the CAU 4 in the second quarter.  CAU had to punt and VSU responded with a 49-yard touchdown pass to senior Armani Hayes for a 14-7 lead at the time.  Following tying the game courtesy of a fumble by the Panthers on a kickoff in the closing seconds of the third, VSU had to punt on its ensuing possession as Walter downed the ball at the CAU 2.  The Blazer "D" stood tall forcing a punt that would lead to the next Blazer drive being the game winning field goal on a 24-yarder from Rolader. 
 
MOREHEAD EVERYWHERE
Blazer senior linebacker Tyler Morehead, who didn't play last season, picked up right where he left off in 2023 with a game-high 12 tackles and six solo stops against CAU.  Morehead helped lead the Blazers to the victory for his second game of registering 12 tackles in his career.  He had 12 stops and nine assisted tackles against Delta State on Oct. 7, 2023.  His breakout game, however, was at Albany State in a 21-16 win where he had two solo tackles, but both were enormous as they were TFL's and sacks for 19 total yards, including on the last drive of the game to preserve the victory.
 
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.
 
BOYD'S DEBUT
Saturday was Harris Boyd's first career start for the Blazers as he went 14 of 24 passing for 235 yards one touchdown and one interception.  He had a QBR of 146.00 for the game.  Harris had a long pass to Armani Hayes for 71 yards, while Hayes caught the one touchdown toss from Boyd.  Boyd connected passes to eight different receivers in the game.
 
CRAIG NAMED 12TH HEAD COACH OF VSU FOOTBALL
Valdosta State announced the hiring of Graham Craig on Jan. 20, 2025, as the 12th head coach in program history.  He served as offensive coordinator for the Blazers last season helping lead the team to the national title game for the seventh time in program history.  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.
 
BEGINNING IN AUGUST
Last week marked the second-straight year the Blazers have opened the season in August.  VSU defeated Albany State in Valdosta on Aug. 31, 2024, 42-10 and won this season 31-28 over Clark Atlanta on Aug. 30.  The Blazers are 12-2 all-time in the month of August.
 
THE GRAHAM CRAIG SHOW
The Graham Craig Show follows each Blazer football game this season as Coach Craig will provide an in-depth perspective of the game immediately following each contest along with interviews and highlights of key players and plays.  Fans can watch the Graham Craig Show on Sunday evenings.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for how to access The Graham Craig Show each week throughout the season. Last week's guests were wide receiver Armani Hayes and Tyler Morehead.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Blazers opened versus Clark Atlanta in Birmingham on Saturday with a 31-28 win.  VSU now turns its sights to Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 6 and then play at Chowan on Sept. 13.  Following a bye week on Sept. 20, VSU opens at home on Sept. 27 at 4 p.m. versus UNC Pembroke at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  It is the third-longest wait to have a home game in program history as VSU opened with four-straight on the road in 1992.  That season, the home-opener was on Oct. 10, and VSU opened with a neutral site game and two road games in 1986, debuting at home on Oct. 4 of 1986.
 
CHANGING REGIONS
This season the CIAA moved to Super Region One with the newly added Conference Carolinas Football league taking its place in Super Region Two.  Despite being an out of region game, there is much anticipation for this game as both programs were very good last.  VSU finished 13-1 and lost in the national championship game, while JCS went 8-2 after opening the season 8-0.  This marks the first game against an NCAA Division II non-Super Region Two opponent during the regular season since hosting Ohio Dominican on Sept. 14, 2019, in Valdosta in a 48-21 victory.  Prior to that, the last was Angelo State in a 37-3 win on Sept. 28, 2013, also in Valdosta.  
 
BLAZERS TIED FOR SECOND IN PRESEASON GSC POLL
The Blazers were picked tied for second in the 2025 Gulf South Conference Preseason Coaches Poll with West Alabama.  West Florida was tabbed as league-favorite garnering nine points and three first-place votes.  VSU and UWA each had six points and UWA had the remaining first-place nod, while Delta State had three points for fourth. 
 
2025 SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
The Blazers played in the Week Zero Labor Day Classic for their first neutral site game during the regular season since 2018, while they have five home games at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium and play at a Division I school for the first time since 2003.    The Blazers host UNC Pembroke (Sept. 27), Lenoir-Rhyne (Oct. 4), North Greenville (Oct. 25), West Alabama (Nov. 1) and Delta State (Nov. 8).  Last season VSU went 8-0 at home and are 191-59-1 all-time in home games and 182-55-1 in games played at Cleveland Field/Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  The Oct. 12 game at The Citadel marks the first game against a Division I opponent since VSU won 45-17 on Sept. 6, 2003, at Florida Atlantic.  
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
The Blazers sit 11th in the preseason AFCA Top 25 and 14th in the D2Football.com Top 25 this week following last week's victory.  VSU also is seventh in the FloCollege Top 25 this week.
 
NO SHUTOUTS
Valdosta State has gone 393-straight games without being shutout as it is the longest active streak in NCAA Division II.  The last time VSU was blanked came on Sept. 14, 1991, at Central Florida, 12-0.
 
ABOUT JOHNSON C. SMITH
The Golden Bulls opened the 2025 season with a 45-9 win over Morehouse at the Inaugural Essence Classic in Boston, Mass.  The Golden Bulls were picked second in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Preseason Poll with Virginia Union leading the way, while Virginia State was third behind JCS.  JCSU's Brevin Caldwell earned first team all-preseason honors at wide receiver, as did DL Lamone Hill, Jr.  Both Caldwell and Hill didn't play against Morehouse, but the Golden Bulls were led offensively by quarterback Kelvin Durham who was 15 of 19 passing for 270 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.  Four different players scored rushing touchdowns as JCSU amassed 209 yards on the ground, while Durham enjoyed throwing to Brian Lane for six receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown.  Andrew Attmore also saw action under center going 3 for 4 for 33 yards.  JCSU held Morehouse to 97 yards on the ground and 274 through the air last week.  The defense registered four tackles for loss and three sacks, while recording four interceptions.  Daryl Taybron led the team with seven total tackles, while Elijah Wilson had two interceptions and Quentin Williams had one of the three sacks for 12 yards.  Head coach Maurice Flowers is 18-23 at JCSU in his fourth season, while he is 25-18 in his sixth season of coaching with a stop at Fort Valley State for two seasons in 2020 and 2021. 
 
A WIN OVER JOHNSON C. SMITH WOULD . . .