Gulf South Conference

GSC Football Weekly Update, Nov. 12

11/12/2014 3:36:17 PM

Complete Release (PDF)  --  GSC Scoreboard  --  Watch the GSC Game of the Week

Tweet #GSCFootball

                Conference Title hopes are on the line in the 11th and final week of the 2014 GSC Football regular season.
                No. 13 Delta State and No. 15 North Alabama enter the week tied for first-place in the league standings at 5-1.  UNA can get a jump start on DSU for a share of the league crown on Thursday night, when the Lions travel to in-state rival West Alabama in the final installment of the GSC Football Game of the Week Presented by Florida's Space Coast.  The finale can be viewed exclusively on ESPN3 by accessing www.gscsports.org/ESPN3 or by downloading the WatchESPN app.
                DSU must also hurdle an in-state GSC rival on its way to a share of the league crown, hosting Mississippi College on Saturday.  The Statesmen's Homecoming is the first meeting versus the Choctaws since 1995.
                No. 25 Valdosta State and West Georgia enter Saturday one game behind first-place, but both enter the weekend with potential NCAA Playoff berths at stake. 
                VSU is No. 5 in the Super Region Two rankings and travel to Florida Tech which is No. 10 in the region.  The Blazers own the longest winning streak in the GSC at five and should lock up a post-season bid with a win.
                UWG has little room for error when the Wolves travel to nearby Shorter on Saturday.  West Georgia heads into Barron Stadium at No. 6 in the region that will take the top six schools in Sunday's final ranking.
    #15 North Alabama (8-1, 5-1) @ West Alabama (5-5, 2-4), 6:00 p.m. CST
Location: Tiger Stadium, Livingston, Ala.
Series:  UNA leads 49-17-1
Last Meeting: @ UNA 30, UWA 27 OT (2013)
ESPN3  --  Live Stats
                The 2014 GSC Football Game of the Week package comes to a close this week, featuring one of the league's top rivalries as No. 15 North Alabama travels to West Alabama on Thursday.
                UWA hosts its second GSC-TV clash in three weeks after falling to Valdosta State on October 30.  The Tigers are 1-1 in televised contests this year, while UNA features a perfect 3-0 mark in its TV games in 2014.  Overall, West Alabama is 14-10 all-time in GSC-TV tilts, while the Lions are 12-8 .  This week marks the third time in four years that the foes have battled in front of a television audience in Livingston with UWA taking a 31-26 decision in 2011 and a 42-27 triumph in 2012. 
                North Alabama owns a 49-17-1 series lead, but the rivals have traded victories in the last seven matchups.  West Alabama has revenge on its mind after the Lions outlasted the then No. 20 Tigers in overtime a year ago, 30-27.  The roles are reversed this year, as UNA enters at No. 15 in the nation and No. 4 in the regional poll.   North Alabama owns a 18-11-1 advantage inside Tiger Stadium, but UWA has recorded victories in two of the last three battles in Livingston. 
   
West Georgia (8-2, 4-2) @ Shorter (3-6, 1-5), 11:00 am EST
Location: Barron Stadium, Rome, Ga.
Series: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: UWG 31, @ SU 14 (2013)
Live Video  --  Live Stats
                The short series lead is up for grabs when Shorter hosts nearby in-state foe West Georgia on Saturday. 
                Only 55 miles separate the recent GSC rivals and both teams have notched wins in the two previous meetings.  SU kicked off the series with a 24-20 upset in Carrollton in 2012, only to see the Wolves take a 31-14 decision in Rome, Ga. last season.  The Hawks seek to move past .500 at home after splitting its four previous matchups, while UWG is 2-2 on the road this year. 
 
Mississippi College (1-8, 0-6) @ #13 Delta State (8-1, 5-1), 4:00 p.m. CST  --  HOMECOMING
Location: Parker Field at McCool Stadium, Cleveland, Miss.
Series: DSU leads 17-15-2
Last Meeting: @ DSU 14, MC 0 (1995)
Live Video  --  Live Stats
                Saturday is a date that No. 13 Delta State and Mississippi College fans circled when MC officially announced its intentions to rejoin the GSC after leaving the league in 1996. 
                One of the Magnolia State's most bitter rivalries returns this weekend with DSU seeking to cap its Homecoming with a victory over the Choctaws in the first meeting in 19 years.  The Statesmen finished the series by grabbing a 17-15-2 lead thanks to back-to-back, 14-0 triumphs in 1994 and 1995.  Delta State evened the series in Cleveland, Miss. in 1995 at 5-5-1.  MC's last victory at DSU came in 1993, 13-7.
 
#25 Valdosta State (7-2, 4-2) @ Florida Tech (6-4, 3-3), 6:00 pm EST
Location: Palm Bay High School’s Pirate Stadium, Melbourne, Fla.
Series: VSU leads 1-0
Last Meeting: @ VSU 52, FIT 14 (2013)
Live Video  --  Live Stats
                No. 25 Valdosta State wraps up its regular season on the road, seeking to strengthen its regional resume at Florida Tech.
                VSU is in position to punch its NCAA Playoff ticket, standing at No. 5 in the regional poll, while FIT remained No. 10 in the rankings after the Panthers nearly upsetting West Georgia on the road last weekend.  The Blazers make their first-ever trip to Melbourne, Fla. after taking the series opener in Valdosta a year ago, 52-14.  Valdosta State has reeled off five consecutive wins, while Florida Tech has claimed three wins in its last four contests. 

GSC FOOTBALL--WEEK IN REVIEW

                The second to last week of the regular season went as planned, leaving a first-place tie atop the league standings heading into Week 11.
                No. 15 North Alabama kept pace with Delta State, upping its Conference record to 5-1 after a 45-7 home victory over Shorter.  UNA's offense rolled up 620 total yards, while the Lions' defense held SU scoreless with the Hawk's lone touchdown coming on a fumble recovery for a score. 
                No. 13 Delta State moved out of Conference on Saturday, posting a dominate 73-6 home win over Concordia (AL).  DSU celebrated its Senior Day in grand fashion, hitting the fourth highest point total in school history and also surpassing 70 points in a game for the second time this year.
                Valdosta State and West Georgia remained in the mix for a NCAA Playoff bid thanks to in-region triumphs on Saturday.
                VSU ran its GSC-high winning streak to five after traveling to cruise past UNC-Pembroke, 36-7.  The Blazers scored the game's first 29 points, sprinting to a 29-0 halftime lead by outgaining UNCP, 324-81.  Quarterback Kale Nobles stepped in for injured starter Jake Medlock, completing 24 of his 38 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns.
                UWG and Florida Tech entertained the GSC-TV audience in the first of two GSC Football Games of the Week, combining for 84 points.  The Wolves jumped out to a 21-7 advantage in the first quarter, but FIT tied the game on two occasions capped by 35-35 score with just 2:05 remaining.  West Georgia owned the final two minutes, taking a seven-point lead with 53 seconds left and icing the victory with a 15-yard interception return for a score with 31 ticks on the clock.
                The GSC-TV crew returned to Clinton, Miss. for the first time since the season-opener as Mississippi College and West Alabama restarted their GSC rivalry.  UWA took back control of the all-time series, 20-19-2, holding on to a 31-14 halftime lead en route to a 41-28 win.  Quarterback Kyle Caldwell moved into sixth-place in the league's all-time TD passing list with 70.