STORYLINES
In the final (countable) game of the Gulf South schedule, Week 10 will let us know if Delta State can go undefeated an be crowned the outright champs or if they will share the honor. This will also be the final crack to improve a résumé for those with NCAA postseason aspirations.

• SU vs NGU – Shorter will entertain North Greenville in Rome, Ga. The Hawks are looking to first their first conference  win of the season and will try to stop a seven-game skid, while the Crusaders try and rebound after a homecoming defeat against Valdosta State. This will be the sixth meeting in series history since 2008, with NGU leading 4-1 and recording back-to-back shutout wins in 2019 and 2021.
• DSU vs UWG – Delta State return home on Saturday to host West Georgia in a Top 20 match-up, as the Statesmen look to capture their first outright crown since 2011. The Wolves come into the weekend with the league’s best scoring defense (20.1 pts/gm) and allow the  fewest yards per game (295.0 yds/gm). DSU’s offense is flying though with a GSC-best 507.7 yards of offense/game and a league-best  44.2 points/game. Saturday will mark the 37th meeting since 1983, with Delta State leading the series 20-16.
• MC vs UWA – West Alabama and Mississippi College will add another chapter to its long rivalry, in what will be the 49th meeting since 1946, per MC’s records. Both teams have dropped consecutive games of late, as the Tigers look to end a three-game skid, while the Choctaws hope to stop a two-game slide. UWA leads the all-time series 26-20-2 and is 8-1 since 2012, with the lone blemish being a non-conference  with MC winning 28-24.
• VSU vs UWF – Valdosta State will try to build off last week’s momentum as it hosts rival West Florida. The Argonauts meanwhile will try to bolster their NCAA résumé and still have a chance of claiming a share of the GSC title, should they win and Delta State lose. This will be the seventh meeting between the GSC’s last two national title winners, with the Blazers leading the series 4-2. UWF however has won the last two meetings, including a 61-42 decision last year. 

• Delta State (No. 6), West Florida (No. 8) and West Georgia (No. 19) were ranked in the ninth regular season poll of 2022 by the AFCA. As a result, the Gulf South extended its run to 50 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 43-straight polls, since to the Week 5 (Oct. 1) release in 2018, and 10th time in 2022. The league saw its run among the Top 5 come to end as it was part of the last 31-straight polls (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). 
• Durden was also a preseason candidate for the Reese’s Senior Bowl.
• Heading into Week 10 of the season, both Durham and Durden remove on the Harlon Hill shortlist from the preseason, while Delta State’s Patrick Shegog and UWF’s  Shomari Mason were midseason additions.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
The second of three NCAA sponsored regional rankings was released on Monday. Top-ranked Delta State and No. 4 West Florida were among those mentioned in the Super Region 2 Poll. Seven teams from Super Region 2 will advance to the NCAA Postseason. There is no automatic qualification, but there is earned access. The next poll will be released October 31.

ODD & ENDS

• West Florida led the league with eight preseason All-GSC ctions, including six offensive nods. Valdosta State followed with six 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 is tied for the fourth-best single-game performance this season in Division II. Valdosta State’s 700 total yards of offense in Week 3 is sixth-best in the D2 charts.
• Delta State’s nine-game win streak has the Statesmen tied for the third-longest active streak in NCAA D2. DSU is one of eight teams nationally and two within Super Region 2 who are undefeated. 
• Mississippi College’s 598 rushing yards in Week 7, was a Division II single-game best this season, and was the second-best performance in GSC-history. The Choctaws are hold the second-highest rushing total this season (527 yds) which it set in Week 6.
• On Sept. 24, West Georgia head coach David Dean tallied his 37th win with the Wolves, becoming the winningest coach in program-history after 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 (VSU); Indianapolis, Jody Fortson (VSU), Kansas City; and Tyreek Hill (UWA), Miami.