STORYLINES
At the halfway point of the season there remains lot left to play as teams continue to vie for positioning in the Gulf South standings and NCAA postseason. 

• West Florida at Shorter – The Argonauts head to Rome, Ga., as they square off with Shorter. UWF began the week  with a 2-1 mark in league play and have back-to-back wins, including a convincing 42-28 decision at West Georgia last week. Shorter entered the week at the bottom of the GSC standings carrying an 0-3 mark while having dropped its last four. The Hawks are 0-5 in the all-time series, dating back to 2016.
• West Georgia at North Greenville – The Crusaders host West Georgia in the fourth-ever meeting all-time. Both teams are 1-2 in the Gulf South standings and have surrendered back-to-back losses but still have plenty to play for with three league games remaining after this weekend.  The Wolves led the series 3-0 and have won by an average of 22.3 points.
• Mississippi College at Valdosta State – Riding back-to-back wins, Mississippi College turns its attention to Valdosta State, who have not dropped three-consecutive GSC games since 2011. The Blazers are second among league leaders in scoring, while the Choctaws look to engage its high octane offense after rushing for 527 yards last week, setting a single-game high in Division II this season. Since 1982, Valdosta State leads the all-time series 8-12-1, including wins in the last 11 meetings.
• West Alabama at Delta State – The conference’s top scoring offense will entertain the conference’s second-best defense, as the longest active rivalry in GSC-history goes under the lights in Cleveland, Miss. Delta State looks to its six-game win streak while UWA tries to win its third-straight. Per DSU’s records, this will be the 68th all-time meeting since 1940, and 53rd overall, since the two schools were among the group that help found the league in 1971.  Since 1971, the Statesmen are  28-21-3, while the Tigers are 5-2 since 2015.

WATCH ON FLOSPORTS
For the second-consecutive season, FloSports and FloFootball will be the exclusive home for all GSC home games during the 2022 season. Fans can subscribe to the streaming service at a special GSC discounted rate of $19.99/month or $150/year ($12.50/mo.), and subscriptions are able to be canceled at anytime. For more information or to sign-up visit flosports.tv/gulfsouth.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

• West Florida (No. 9), Delta State (No. 10) and West Georgia (No. 25) were ranked in the sixth regular season poll of 2022 by the AFCA. As a result, the Gulf South extended its run to 45 consecutive polls, dating back to Dec.18, 2017, with at least one team ranked in the AFCA Division II Top 25. 
• A GSC team has been among the Top 10 in the last 39-straight polls and five times in 2022. The league however saw its run among the Top 5 come to end as it was part of the last 31 rankings (Nov. 5, 2018-Sept.5, 2022). 
• Prior to the 2022 season, conference teams have been ranked in the AFCA Top 25 a combined 801 times since the start of the 2000 season, including 64 total mentions with a representative at No. 1. 

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Gulf South teams are 15-7 in non-conference action through the first three weeks of the 2022 season, including a 1-1 record against Division I-FCS opposition. In the past five seasons, the GSC has posted a 73-44 record in regular season contests against non-GSC teams. The league was 19-4 last season, 12-7 in 2019, 15-10 in 2018, 12-11 in 2017 and 15-8 in 2016. 

NATIONAL AWARD WATCHLIST

• The GSC has four representatives on the Harlon Hill Watchlist, which is awarded annually to the top player in Division II. Among the list is Ivory Durham (Valdosta State), Harrison Frost (West Georgia), Kyle Morlock (Shorter) and David Durden (West Florida). 
• Following stellar back-to-back performance’s Delta State’s Patrick Shegog has been a mid-season addition to the Harlon Hill Watchlist.
• Durden was also a preseason candidate for the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

GSC PRESEASON POLL
Valdosta State was selected as the league favorite in the GSC Preseason Poll as voted by the coaches. The Blazers, who claimed a share of the league title last season with West Florida as both teams finished 6-1, received six first-place votes. UWF followed with two first-place votes as it was picked second.

ODD & ENDS

• West Florida led the league with eight preseason All-GSC selections, including six offensive nods. Valdosta State followed with six overall picks and four on offense. North Greenville, West Alabama and UWF each had two defensive selections.
• Delta State’s 703 yards of the offense in Week 5 against Valdosta State, eclipsed the previous mark of 700 total yards set by the Blazers in Week 3. Heading into Week 7, the Statesmen’s performance is second-best in Division II this season, with Valdosta State following in third.
• Delta State’s six-consecutive wins to enter the week is tied for the sixth-longest active streak in NCAA D2 this season. The Statesmen are just one of 15 teams in Division II still holding onto a perfect record.
• Mississippi College’s 527 rushing yards against Shorter  in Week 6, was a Division II single-game best this season, while its 67 total carries was second overall. The overall rushing performance was also good for the sixth all-time in GSC history.
• On Sept. 24, West Georgia head coach David Dean tallied his 37th win with the Wolves, becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach following a 22-7 victory over West Alabama. Dean, who previously coached Valdosta State from 2007-15, began the season ranked third all-time in GSC-history with 113 career wins, trailing Bobby Wallace (152) and John M. Williams (122).

GSC IN THE NFL
Prior to the start of the NFL preseason, the GSC had 12 former football student-athletes competing for spots on the 53-man roster. The number was trimmed down to five at the start of the NFL regular season – Christian Matthew (VSU), Arizona; D’Anthony Bell (UWF), Cleveland; Kenny Moore II (VSU); Indianapolis, Jody Fortson (VSU), Kansas City; and Tyreek Hill (UWA), Miami.